Motorcycle Riders Cross West Virginia Headed For Vietnam Memorial

Approximately 50 motorcycle riders crossed West Virginia Thursday on their way to a candlelight vigil at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. for Memorial Day.

The cross-country motorcycle trek is called the Remember Our Fallen ride. The official Ride For The Wall was canceled for the second straight year due to COVID-19 concerns.

About 50 riders were determined to take the ride anyway. The sounds of their motorcycles could be heard by those at the state capitol as the bikers journeyed on a leg through Charleston.

This 10-day ride began in California and ends at the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington.

For Jarrod Gerbitz from Jennings, Kansas said he has always “had a deep down feeling that we need some accountability for all of our prisoners of war and everyone who has not made it home.”

Eric Douglas

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Michael Mulligan began his ride in Crested Butte, Colorado, but rode to Los Angeles to join up with other riders. He estimates by the time he gets home, it will be a 7,000 mile ride. He has been making this journey since 2014.

The ride continues this year, he said, even though the official ride has been canceled, because of the efforts of “a group of like minded people who continue the mission.” He noted that many of his fellow riders said they have made the trip a number of times and, like him, their mission is to ride for those who can’t.

“I ride for my dad. He’s a Vietnam vet,” Mulligan said.

He is not a veteran himself, but this is how Mulligan serves now. He will meet his father at the Vietnam Memorial, and together pay tribute.

“I will get to go to the candlelight vigil and to the Vietnam Memorial,” he said. “And it’s all about supporting my dad.”