Rolling to Remember honors veterans, fallen troops after Pentagon snub
Thousands of vets on motorcycles looped around the National Mall and past a saluting Marine
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Rolling to Remember motorcycle rally kicked off at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., on Sunday to remember and honor veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces for Memorial Day.
Thousands of veterans on motorcycles rolled out from the RFK Stadium parking lot and took a route around the nation’s capital to raise awareness for over 80,000 unaccounted for prisoners of war and those missing in action, and to the crisis of suicide among veterans.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The route took the vets around the National Mall and past a saluting Marine.
Staff Sgt. Tim Chambers salutes as motorcyclists participate in the "Rolling to Remember" demonstration as they ride past the Lincoln Memorial on May 30, 2021, in Washington, DC. The event is to honor American prisoners of war and service members missing in action, and to call attention to veterans' issues. (OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)
Photos and video of the riders taking to the streets on their motorcycles were posted to social media.
The veterans' group AMVETS hosted the event, which almost didn’t happen this year after the Department of Defense wouldn’t allow it to start from the Pentagon parking lot due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"They should never have had to scramble and find an alternative site – and everyone knows it never would have happened to a group that is politically favored by the Biden Administration," Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., told Fox News earlier this month.
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Mayor Muriel Bowser, the Metropolitan Police Department and other D.C. leaders stepped in to allow the rally to start from the RFK Stadium parking lot.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It’s everything, to let them know that we’re not going anywhere, is a big thing for us," veteran Chuck Clark of Ohio told FOX5 DC on Sunday.
The coronavirus pandemic forced Rolling to Remember to go virtual in 2020.
Fox News' Evie Fordham contributed to this report.