War is an inevitable tragedy that has plagued mankind
since the dawn of time. Unfortunately, a
component of war is prisoners of war or POWs as we commonly refer to them as
today. These people are soldiers or aids
captured by the enemy side and kept in usually terrible conditions. It is common practice that prisoners of war
are treated badly being malnourished, beaten, tortured, and or raped. All of these tactics are to not only inflict
extreme amounts of pain on the person, but also to give them incentive to give
up valuable information that will help the enemy side have an advantage in
war. Another unfortunate aspect of war
is soldiers or aids that go missing in combat.
These people, commonly referred to as “missing in action” or MIA, were
never found alive or dead and never made the journey home after their service
was up or it was time to go home.
These
occurrences happen in nearly every if not all wars throughout time. Taking prisoners for information or to use as
a bargaining chip can be a very useful tactic in gaining the upper hand on an
enemy. While Americans are no strangers
to war, there was one war in particular during which returning soldiers were
met with great opposition. The Vietnam
War was protested heavily in the United States as many Americans saw no sense
in forcing young men to fight in a distant land for a cause which they viewed
as unjust. Protests occurred all over
the nation as a response to this conflict, one of the most famous protests
taking place just miles away from Walsh and Kent State University. Upon return to the United States, soldiers
that had no choice but to go serve his country were faced with homelessness,
mistreatment, harassment, and even violent attacks for having been in the armed
services. Years after the conflict had
ended, a group of men came together to form a motorcycle group to help support
their brothers here in the United States but more so those that were kept
prisoners overseas and those that never made it back to their family alive or
in a casket.
The
Rolling Thunder, as they would come to call themselves, was a motorcycle group
that would ride annually, participate in events year-round, and spread the
message to support families of prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action. The group was started by four former United
States service members from various different branches of the military. Ray Monzo was one of the four original
members and perhaps the leading force behind the creation of the club. His idea for a motorcycle club grew from
inspiration he acquired by talking to Vietnam veterans at the Vietnam War
Memorial. There he learned stories of
soldiers left behind in Southeast Asia when the United States troops pulled out
of the area. From this point, he made it
his mission to bring awareness of those left behind overseas fighting in
American wars. With the help of his
comrades, the motorcycle club has held an annual ride through the streets of
Washington DC starting at the Pentagon, driving over the Memorial Bridge and
finally ending at the Vietnam War Memorial to honors all the service men and
women that served, lost their lives, or are still missing from foreign wars.
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This
event has been an annual ride since 1988.
The event is used to bring light to the issue but also has a double
meaning. While most of the founding
members were already motorcycle enthusiasts before the creation of the group,
the sound that motorcycles generate is quiet loud. Some motorcycles have grown quieter in recent
decades; however, Harley-Davidson Motorcycles, the official motorcycle sponsor
of the event every year, has always boasted a loud engine and iconic
sound. This loud sound is intended to
“announce” the ride through town and to sound similar to the heavy bombing
heard during conflict in the Vietnam War.
The event takes place on the Sunday before Memorial Day each year. A photo of the ride can be viewed below. The Rolling Thunder was incorporated in 1995
and further has around 90 chapters in nearly 30 states across the United
States.
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Rolling Thunder Ride for Freedom on the streets of
Washington, D.C., circa 1998. Image courtesy of WTOP.com.
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This
protest can be viewed in a variety of ways.
To take the Catholic perspective, one can use the Gaudium et spes
document to analyze the situation. The
document states that when an authoritative body, a government or some other
form of authority issues a command or makes a law, the citizens and bound to
obey. This message speaks volumes. From one perspective, a citizen should listen
to what they are told by their government.
This should extend to the nation’s military as well. However, if the government has made decisions
in its own interest or in neglect of the good of the people, should people
follow the rules of the nation? I see
this as relatable to the situation in Vietnam that this organization seeks to
end. If commanding officers were to tell
their men that we must leave immediately and the soldiers knew that there were
still soldiers out in the field, should the soldiers follow through? On one hand, they are bound to listen to
their commanders in authority, as stated above by the document. On the other hand, the idea of leaving others
behind purposefully to save your own skin seems morbid. I cannot speak as a soldier as to what I
would do in this situation. However, as
a citizen of a nation that holds superpower status, I would hope that my
government wouldn’t make such policies or implement such practices as to leave
men behind. Simply because the
government has the authority to issue commands to soldiers doesn’t necessarily
that a soldier must follow if the orders are unjust. Now this order may have other motives that
the soldier doesn’t know and thus my whole argument could be shot. However, in this situation, where the nation
has exited the war in defeat, I believe it was wrong to leave without everyone
still fighting.
To learn more about the Rolling Thunder, their
mission, and the Ride for Freedom rally in the future, click the
Rolling Thunder.
When my father participated in one of the Rolling Thunder rallies in the early 1990's He would always talk about him getting together with several of his biker friends and how amazing it was to be in a group of thousands of bikes all in one place. To anyone who was in the Washington DC area to witness the 'Rolling Thunder' of thousands of motorcycles would for sure not forget the reason that they are there. I can see this connecting to my article about the Freedom Sunday for Soviet Jews because if there was a gathering of 250,000 people outside a summit of world leaders. Their demands would definitely be a talking point during the Summit. Which ended up granting the Jewish people of the Soviet Union freedom.
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