2017 Run for the Wall Rolls through Monroe May 22nd

Monday, May 1, 2017 - 10:00am

2017 Run for the Wall Rolls through Monroe May 22nd

Mayor Jamie Mayo and the Monroe City Council are pleased to announce the 2017 Run for the Wall Memorial Ceremony will be held 8:30 am Monday, May 22, at the War Memorials on the lawn between Monroe City Hall and the Monroe City Court building. Mayor Mayo will present an official proclamation in support of this memorial event. Each year, hundreds of veterans and supporters make their annual stop in Monroe, Louisiana, via motorcycle caravan in route to Washington, D.C., for Memorial Day.

RUN FOR THE WALL
This is the 29th Annual Run for the Wall (RFTW). Thousands of citizens from across the country are embarking on a cross country motorcycle trek to the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. Started in 1989, by Vietnam veterans James Gregory and Bill Evans, the purpose of the event is to support military personnel and promote healing for ALL veterans and their families & friends. In addition, it is designed to call for an accounting and remembrance of all Prisoners of War (POW), Missing in Action (MIA) or Killed in Action (KIA).

An estimated 500 to 800 motorcyclist will travel across Louisiana participating in the central route of this commemorative event. After a brief 8:30 am ceremony at City Hall, the caravan will leave Monroe at approximately 9 am, Monday, May 22, to continue their cross country journey to Washington, D.C.

While in the nation’s capital, they will visit military memorials to include the D-Day Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial Wall, and Arlington Cemetery. The Memorial Day weekend will close with the famous Rolling Thunder parade through the streets of Washington, D.C., and will feature more than 500,000 riders from across the country to pay homage to all U.S. Troops.