‘Run for the Wall’ riders pass through Grayson
GRAYSON Vehicle horns blared as the flags and hands waved on the Grayson overpass, welcoming more than 100 motorcyclists as they made their journey through Carter County Wednesday.
Individuals participating in the annual “Run for the Wall” motorcycle ride from California to Washington, D.C., were met by a crowd of people on two overpasses in Grayson honoring the riders’ commitment to remembering prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action, said Whitey Marshall, ride captain of northeastern Kentucky.
Marshall, lead person of “Bridge Day,” has been coming to the overpass for years to show honorary and patriotism.
“We are Patriot Guard Riders, but today is about the whole community,” Marshall said. “We went and did our duty; as a Vietnam vet, this is to honor them and support all of them. As long as we still have guys that have not come home yet, we are going to be here for it. We have a great patriotic community here.”
People have been gathering in support of “Run for the Wall” in Grayson since 1992 spearheaded by Charles French, he said.
“They look for us every year. They have been in touch with me all week. They got into tornado funnels, hail and everything in Kansas days ago and they kept it coming,” Marshall said.
As the dozens of motorcyclists rolled through, some saluted, some waved and some were in “awe.” The crowd of people standing under a large extended American Flag, hanging from a fire truck, roared on as some riders waved and saluted back.
Crescent Holbrook’s father, Charles French, was one of the original 11 members from Kentucky who rode to Washington, D.C., for Rolling Thunder, an annual Memorial Day gathering which began in 1988 with motorcycle riders from all over the nation, she said.
“We did that for the first 10 years,” she said — until a point was reached that her father was unable to go. That sparked an idea of standing on the overpass, which commences to this day.
“He knew how important it was for the riders to see support all the way there and that’s when we started standing on the bridge,” Holbrook said.
“This was his thing; he hated not being able to ride all the way. This was the ‘welcome home’ that a lot of the Vietnam veterans didn’t get so it was very, very important to him.”
Despite experiencing severe weather, Cindy Gallagher, of American Legion Riders, felt compelled to make her way to the overpass, she said. The sacrifice for America runs in her blood with her grandfather and father being a Navy and Army veteran, respectively, she said.
“I am not a veteran. I didn’t serve, but this is my service to the Patriot Guard,” she said.
