Approximately 400 motorcycles made their way into Heritage Park on Sunday evening as part of the Run for the Wall (RFTW) cross country ride to Washington, D.C.
Event coordinator Carl “Rusty” Brown said that the ride is therapeutic for many veterans that participate.
“You come back [from war] and who can you trust – you can’t talk to your wife, your girlfriend, your family members – they weren’t there, they don’t understand,” said Brown. “But when you get into this ride, you’ve got to trust that guy sitting next to you – we’re handlebar to handlebar going down the road at 70 miles per hour.”
Junction City has become a favorite pit stop for the RFTW riders; General Patrick Frank, 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley Acting Senior Commander, said it’s where “Kansas values meet Army values.”
Frank was the guest speaker for the ceremony in front of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Heritage Park.
“Today’s generation of soldiers thanks you [veterans]; if it was not for your generation, and we stand on your shoulders, the U.S. Military – every service, has learned from your generation, has seen the sacrifices of your generation – the Vietnam generation,” said Frank. “We stand on the shoulders of giants when we refer to the Vietnam veterans and what we owe to that generation.”
The ceremony concluded with the awarding of eagle lapel pins for Vietnam Veterans in attendance.
The riders will stay overnight in Junction City and continue on toward the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
The goal of the ride is to bring attention to veterans missing in action, prisoners of war, and veterans of wars past and present.
