Run for the Wall riders traveling across the nation made Junction City a stopping point Sunday.
During a ceremony in Heritage Park the guest speaker, Vietnam Veteran Ray Calore, touched on a number of issues. The ride helps draw attention to the POW-MIA issue but he touched on a topic he called LKA….Last Known Alive. Those are primarily pilots who were shot down over North Vietnam and Laos. “Who were alive on the ground, radioed that they were alive on the ground, had their signals sent forward that they were alive on the ground either about to be captured or had been captured.”
Calore explained authorities knew that they were alive in captivity. “Why weren’t those people brought home in 1973? They call it Operation Homecoming, sure, for 591. And now dribble by dribble we’re getting boxes of bones but not the ones who were last known alive. So keep that in your mind when we’re talking about the return of our missing, unaccounted for military personnel. ” If there is evidence of their loved ones being alive on the ground, Kalore added the families deserve more than boxes of bones.
Calore, who resides today in Merriam, Kansas, touched on other issues ranging from the need for a permanent Secretary of Veterans Affairs to homeless veterans.
Approximately 500 riders and passengers combined made the trip into Junction City off of Interstate 70 and then traveled up South Washington Street for a ceremony in Heritage Park. They are then spending Sunday night in Junction City before heading east Monday morning to Wentzel, Missouri. Their end goal is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. That number was up substantially from one year ago.
Ride Coordinator Harlan Olson, Longmont Colorado, said Junction City is probably at the top of the list for a welcome. “Especially those flags down there ( on South Washington Street ). If a rider doesn’t come in there with a lump in his throat, especially if you’re a veteran. And a veteran. Especially in my case a Vietnam veteran that didn’t get that 40-50 years ago it feels good.”
At the conclusion of the ceremony the Vietnam Veterans in the group were presented with special lapel pins recognizing their service.
