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Run for the Wall returns to Williams May 16

Riders will stop in Williams on their 3,000 mile trip. (Loretta Yerian/WGCN)

Riders will stop in Williams on their 3,000 mile trip. (Loretta Yerian/WGCN)

WILLIAMS, Ariz. - The annual Run for the Wall motorcycle ride to the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. will roll into Williams May 16.

Run for the Wall began in 1989 when two Vietnam veterans, James Gregory and Bill Evans, rode their bikes across the country talking to local radio stations, newspapers and television stations about the thousands of men and women still unaccounted for from U.S. wars.

According to the Run for the Wall organization, the need for this awareness continues today and the group continues this tradition every May. Public awareness is only part of the Run for the Wall. The ride provides all veterans the opportunity to get their own welcome home and start their healing process.

The Run for the Wall crew has been stopping in Williams for years. Some of the riders have made the ride annually for more than a decade.

On May 16, Run for the Wall riders will enjoy a hot meal in Williams courtesy of Williams’ American Legion Cordova Post 13. The public is invited to stop by, shake hands with riders and thank them for their service. Riders will be at the Legion, 425 West Grant Avenue, at 5:30 p.m. and will have breakfast at Wild West Junction at 7 a.m. May 17.

Last year, Terry Kohl, director of the American Legion Riders for Post 13, said it was especially enjoyable for local legion riders to visit with Run for the Wall riders.

“(Run for the Wall) riders may not all be legion riders but they are motorcyclists and we, as riders of this post, support the post, which put on this dinner,” Kohl said. “From what we’ve been told this is one of the highlights of the entire trip — the meal that we put on here. We have quite a spread and most people when they feed them have hamburgers and hot dogs. We put on a full-blown dinner for them.”

American Legion Cordova Post 13 currently has 13 riders. Last year, Kohl said he has not ridden with Run for the Wall but hopes to one day.

“It’s on my bucket list,” he said. “I’m a Vietnam vet and I need to do it.”

More information about Run for the Wall is available at www.rftw.us.


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