Real Freedom

from Carolina Chrome Magazine July Issue #166

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Since 1993, there has only been one Memorial Day I have been able to spend at home. Oh sure, I would love to enjoy that three day “holiday” weekend with family and friends cooking out or taking local rides on our bikes. It would be awesome to sit back and relax for those three days worrying about nothing but food and fellowship. But that is not what I do! Way back in 1988, a Vietnam Veteran named Ray Manzo organized a rally to bring awareness to the plight of prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action in Southeast Asia. Working with veteran’s organizations and the Vietnam Veterans Motorcycle Club, Manzo encouraged veterans and supporters to ride into Washington DC and gather at the National Mall on Memorial Day Weekend.

More than 2,500 motorcycles showed up and the Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Rally was born! Sadly, after 32 years, Rolling Thunder ended in 2019 when the Rolling Thunder inc. president decided it cost too much to hold any longer. That Same year, AMVETS took over and the rally has since been renamed “Rolling to Remember”. Rolling Thunder/Rolling to Remember, is a protest run geared toward bringing awareness to POWs and MIAs from all wars, the epidemic of veteran suicides, and veteran’s issues in general. At times, more than a million motorcyclists have attended the rally. Each year is different. Some years have been bitterly cold while others are blistering hot. We have endured drenching rain where our tents nearly floated away, tornados have knocked trees over just a few feet from our campsites, and people have even stolen things from us while we were attending the rally. Still, we return every year to Capitol KOA Campground in Millersville MD, where we are always greeted as family, as we have since my third Rolling Thunder in 1995. Every year since 1993, except for 2020 due to the rally’s cancellation during COVID, my friends and I have made the annual Memorial Day pilgrimage to Washington DC to participate and make our voices heard. Why? We ride for those who can’t. We ride for those who still suffer. We ride for those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our nation. We ride for freedom.

Our freedom is fleeting, our freedom is fragile, our freedom is paid for in blood… Yes, to me, it is THAT important! There is another form of freedom as well... It was also paid for by a man with blood and sacrifice. He also died to set us free. He was a man who gave His life for people that He did not know, and who did not deserve His sacrifice. He was with those who fought for the South and those who fought for the North, those who stormed Normandy beach, and those who landed in the Ia Drang valley in 1964. He was with that Marine in Afghanistan, those who fought their way into Baghdad, and he has not forgotten those who died for others. He is still with those who were killed on foreign fields of battle and those who suffer daily from the wounds of battle. He is with the soldier who is in Walter Reed missing a limb as well as the soldier who resides in the homeless shelter suffering from PTSD.

He is the strength that we can all call on in times of need. He wants to show us His unending love and mercy. More than 2000 years ago He was led to a hill and killed because he came to save mankind. He rose on the third day, and He still lives today. If we commit our lives to Him, even though we may find ourselves on a field of battle in a strange land, we will never be alone. He will strengthen us in our weakness, comfort us in our troubles, and catch us when we stumble. His name is Jesus, and even if you do not know Him, He knows you! Matthew 11:28 NIV Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

John 15:13 NIV

"There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”