Free Republic

<p>Please note: to view the stunning photos by TgslTakoma and BMWcyle that illustrate this story, click the italic photo captions.</p> <p>WASHINGTON, DC, September 30, 2005—After twenty-four Friday nights of schlepping the Mother of All Banners, scores of pro-troops signs and dozens of American flags to Georgia Avenue at Elder Street – and don't forget the icewater, soda chests, hot pizzas and lawn chairs – it gets old.</p>

This is a quick post to provide an after action report for the DC Chapter Freep of Code Pink at Walter Reed. It was a night to remember and I did not want to keep everyone waiting. There will be a full report with all pictures later on in the week.It was a normal but cooler night as everyone arrived for another evening of countering Code Pink. Down the street came the sound of a single motorcycle. The Rolling Thunder scout arrived to announce the news of more bikes to follow. The first scout went accross the street to talk...

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, N.C. (Sept. 21, 2005) -- The thunder rolled as Marines and Sailors here waved the North Carolina Rolling Thunder through the Station gates Sept. 10, and even though the personnel may not have seen the group, they did hear them. All five chapters of the North Carolina Rolling Thunder, a motorcycle group dedicated to remembering servicemembers who are prisoners of war or missing in action, hosted their yearly picnic at the Station Marina. Personally welcoming the group, Station Commanding Officer Col. Stephen L. Forand spoke to the group during the table ceremony. Forand welcomed...

WASHINGTON, DC, 8/26/05 – They are tall and muscular, with tanned arms bare to the shoulders. Their black leather vests are encrusted with insignia from their exploits, in the military and on motorcycles. Virile men with long gray hair and weathered skin, they are ageless bad boys with cordially menacing attitudes. They are bikers, and not just any bikers; they are three of the five board members of DC’s Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Rally and Thunder buddies from North Carolina, and they have just arrived, with heart-stopping engine roars and banshee brake stops, in a hospital zone. They have come to...

WASHINGTON - Thousands of motorcycles rolled down the streets of the nation's capital Sunday in a rally organized by Rolling Thunder, a biker group that supports veterans' rights. The group has been staging the rally on Memorial Day weekend since 1988 to focus attention on POW-MIA issues. Many of the bikers took part in the annual memorial ride from Arlington National Cemetery to the National Vietnam War Memorial before heading to the Lincoln Memorial. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Richard Myers, and his wife joined the thousands of bikers riding through Washington. Later in the day,...

Rolling Thunder will be televised rolling into the MALL

Well-meant biker gathering's time has passed By Robert F. Dorr Soon, it will be Memorial Day. On May 30, ceremonies will honor Americans who died in battle. The most important commemoration will take place at Arlington National Cemetery, just across the river from Washington. There will be speeches, hymns and moments of silent reflection. There is a right way to observe Memorial Day. This isn't it. I'm not against bikers. This column has regularly supported military members who choose to ride rather than drive. ("Military puts up too many obstacles for members who ride motorcycles," Army Times, April 29, 2002)....

SUNDAY, APRIL 24, 2005 CLEVELAND PUBLIC SQUARE 12:00 Noon to 1:00 P.M.It is recommended that the PUBLIC arrive around 11:00 AM to greet the procession of motorcycles arriving from all directions into downtown Public Square. JIM MANTEL of WGAR will MC the ceremony. Last year, 8000 motorcycles participated in the event. The USO of Northern Ohio will be accepting donations of care package items.

<p>Once again, busloads of leftist activists will descend upon Fayetteville, NC in an attempt to demoralize the will of our American troops by targetting their loved ones with antiwar drivel.</p> <p>The unifying factor of all of these groups is anti-Americanism utilizing continued propaganda themes of "Bush lied" and "No blood for oil". The mob will also import a number of speakers who have allegedly lost loved ones in Iraq, and will create some sort of symbolic display reflecting the number of dead. (They have used pairs of boots and black umbrellas in the past.) They will (undoubtedly through an unintentional oversight) neglect to display any symbolism reflecting the number of Americans killed in the WTC, or Iraqis killed by Saddam or Women beaten by the Taliban, or the number of Afghanis and Iraquis and Palestinians and Ukrainians and (soon) Egyptians who now have the ability to vote.</p>

Friends of Missing in Action/Captured Captain Michael Scott Speicher, who was captured in the First Gulf War, and Family of Missing in Action/Captured Keith "Matt" Maupin, who was captured in Operation Iraqi Freedom, come together to send message of unity in bringing both men home. Keith and Carolyn Maupin, parents of Matt Maupin, will be guest speakers. Other speakers will include POW from Operation Iraqi Freedom, Chief Warrant Officer Ronald Young, Jr. and author of military fiction Robert Gandt. i-Newswire, 2005-01-03 - On January 17th, 2005 Friends Working to Free Scott Speicher will host a prayer/candle vigil at Lake Shore...

This was so marveleous I thought it deserved its own post!

Everyone said that they knew some day I would get there and I finally did!! When Rolling Thunder "rolled" up to the White House, I was rolling up Pennsylvania Ave. and in the Oval Office too!! (I guess the press just happened to miss me!!!). ;-)

Check this out! President Bush with a couple of real Americans: members of Rolling Thunder! http://www.gop.com/news/photoalbum.aspx?gallery=7The Bushies already made a great video out of it. How can you not love this stuff???? http://www.georgewbush.com/News/MultiMedia/VideoPlayer.aspx?ID=862&T=2

Myers Joins 400,000 Riders in Rolling Thunder Tribute By Jim GaramoneAmerican Forces Press ServiceWASHINGTON, June 1, 2004 – Like thousands of other Vietnam veterans, Joint Chiefs Chairman Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers donned his leather vest and added the rumble of his Harley-Davidson to the Rolling Thunder tribute in Washington May 30. Joint Chiefs Chairman Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers and his wife, Mary Jo, get ready to rumble across the Memorial Bridge during Rolling Thunder May 30. The chairman and his wife joined about 400,000 riders in the annual Memorial Day weekend tribute. Photo Petty Officer...

WASHINGTON - Nancy Sinatra may wear boots made for walking, but she rode to the White House yesterday on the back of a motorcycle. The daughter of Frank Sinatra was part of a delegation of Rolling Thunder officials and others who met President Bush near the South Portico of the White House. Nancy Sinatra, who recorded "These Boots Were Made For Walking" in 1966, rode in wearing a knee-high skirt, dark shades and black cowboy boots. Rolling Thunder President Artie Muller was at the handlebars. Rolling Thunder, which provides information about Americans missing in action in the Vietnam War and...

WASHINGTON - Members of the Rolling Thunder motorcycling group revved their engines on the White House driveway Sunday during a visit with President Bush, who took about 10 bikers in jeans and leather jackets for an Oval Office tour. The roar from bikers on the Mall nearby could be heard on the South Lawn as eight motorcycles, headlights illuminated and American flags jutting off the rear seats, rolled up the driveway to the South Portico where Bush was waiting to greet them. Bush shook hands with Artie Muller, president of the veterans' advocacy group, and kissed Muller's rider, singer Nancy...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Members of the Rolling Thunder motorcycling group revved their engines on the White House driveway Sunday during a visit with President Bush, who took about 10 bikers in jeans and leather jackets for an Oval Office tour. The roar from bikers on the Mall nearby could be heard on the South Lawn as eight motorcycles, headlights illuminated and American flags jutting off the rear seats, rolled up the driveway to the South Portico where Bush was waiting to greet them. Bush shook hands with Artie Muller, president of the veterans' advocacy group, and kissed Muller's rider, singer...

A CBS News poll released this week showing Sen. John Kerry leading President Bush actually contained some devastating news for the Kerry campaign. After months of touting his military record and his combat heroism, the Massachussetts Democrat is losing the veterans' vote to President Bush by a landslide. Kerry has made his military service the centerpiece of his campaign, almost never appearing on the stump without his Vietnam "Band of Brothers" by his side. What's more, Democratic Party surrogates have repeatedly blasted Bush for not serving in Vietnam - going so far as to label him AWOL - a charge...

President Bush will be the first to meet privately with leaders of Rolling Thunder Inc. when the group's 200,000 motorcycle riders rumble into downtown tomorrow for their 17th annual Memorial Day weekend rally. "This is the first time we have a personal invitation from the president to sit down and talk about our issues," said Artie M. Muller, president and co-founder of Rolling Thunder, a nonprofit dedicated to publicizing the plight of American prisoners of war left behind in all the nation's conflicts. "In all the years we have been doing this," Mr. Muller said, "this is the first administration...

ARLINGTON, VA - Bush-Cheney '04 announced today the endorsement of President George W. Bush by Rolling Thunder, Inc. National, an organization which supports veterans and advocates veterans issues. In a letter addressed to President Bush, Rolling Thunder President Artie Muller said the group reached its decision, by overwhelming majority, at a business meeting in March. "We are grateful for the President's leadership in honoring our nation's commitment to veterans. We appreciate his leadership in the War on Terror and in protecting our homeland against those who threaten our freedoms and way of life. We will put our manpower and resources...