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No. 13 Vol. 8
www.themadisonnewsnj.com
August 2017
Rolling Thunder Provides Awareness And Helps Veterans In Need
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By R.E. Wagner end them home! We will not forget!” This is just a handful of statements rising above the steady rumble of passing motorcycles during the demonstrations, community events and charity drives organized across the country by the non-profit organization known as Rolling Thunder. In 1987, former United States Marine Corps Corporal Ray Manzo, U.S. Army Sergeant Major John Holland, Marine First Sergeant Walt Sides, and Sergeant Ted Sampley had lunch together at a diner in Somerville. They were meeting to discuss an unsettling issue that they, as servicemen, felt wasn’t being acknowledged enough in certain military circles. By the end of the meeting, they parted ways with a mission in mind: to bring full accountability for the ‘Prisoners Of War’ and ‘Missing In Action (MIA)’ of all U.S. wars. For Diane Malanga, the secretary of Rolling Thunder’s 3rd Chapter in New Jersey and an official member for almost a decade, Rolling Thunder’s goal hit close to a place close to her heart. “They were deeply troubled knowing these men and
women were forgotten,” explained Malanga, “thinking of their families who have not had a chance to have closure. My father served in World War II and Korea and my son just left for boot camp.” Since World War II, more than 83,000 MIA cases have remained unresolved within military files. An MIA is a casualty classification assigned to combatants and prisoners of war (POW) who are reported missing during wartime. They may have been killed, wounded or captured. If deceased, neither their remains nor grave site have been positively identified. For these four veterans, 83,000 unaccounted soldiers left overseas on distant battlefields was an outrage.
“They said we have to take a stand and do something to raise awareness,” Malanga continued. On May 29, 1988, Corporal Manzo recruited 2,500 men and women from all over the nation to attend Rolling Thunder’s first public event held in Washington D.C. There, they assembled peacefully in the parking lot of the Pentagon and rode through the Capital on a predetermined route that led them to the Lincoln Memorial. Since then, Rolling Thunder has grown into an established national organization. During their most recent rally in 2017, almost a million people attended to show their patriotism. And with approximately 10,000 active members
spread out across the country among 94 chapters in 33 states, Rolling Thunder has no plans on slowing down. The non-profit’s rosters are filled not only with veterans and active duty military personal, but their families, friends and those who seek to honor the soldiers who never made it home. In New Jersey alone, there are four Rolling Thunder chapters consisting of hundreds of members. The Garden State is also home to Rolling Thunder’s National Headquarters located in Lebanon. “I joined the chapter three in 2008,” Malanga said, before sharing her fond memory of her first event with Rolling Thunder at the Community Living Center continued on page 2