{"id":56707,"date":"2020-05-21T18:53:27","date_gmt":"2020-05-21T18:53:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/05\/21\/this-years-annual-memorial-day-motorcycle-ride-will-be-quieter-than-past-rallies-but-not-silent\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T08:58:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T08:58:28","slug":"this-years-annual-memorial-day-motorcycle-ride-will-be-quieter-than-past-rallies-but-not-silent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2020\/05\/21\/this-years-annual-memorial-day-motorcycle-ride-will-be-quieter-than-past-rallies-but-not-silent\/","title":{"rendered":"This year\u2019s annual Memorial Day motorcycle ride will be quieter than past rallies, but not silent"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As he has for the last 22 consecutive years, Francis \u201cMac\u201d MacDonald is planning to make a noisy motorcycle ride around Washington, D.C. again <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/05\/15\/arlington-national-cemetery-will-stay-closed-to-general-public-over-memorial-day-weekend\/\" target=_blank>this Memorial Day weekend<\/a>, showing off his military patches and hoping to remind passer-bys who the weekend is meant to honor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But on this year\u2019s ride, he\u2019ll have a few hundred thousand fewer friends than he usually brings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s still something that has to be done,\u201d said McDonald, a retired Marine Corps master sergeant who served as president of the Virginia <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/military-honor\/vietnam-vets-rolling-thunder\/\" target=\"_blank\">Rolling Thunder<\/a> chapter during the event\u2019s final ride last year. \u201cIf it\u2019s just me by myself this time, that\u2019s fine. If a few more people join me, it\u2019s even better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In past years, finding extra riding partners hasn\u2019t been a problem. Since the Rolling Thunder event was founded in 1988, the ride swelled from a few thousand participants to nearly 1 million cyclists and spectators last year, a crowd whose expense and logistics forced the end of the tradition last spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/09\/20\/amvets-plans-massive-memorial-day-motorcycle-rally-to-replace-rolling-thunders-ride\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"191\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3H5A1077.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">AMVETS plans massive Memorial Day motorcycle rally to replace Rolling Thunder\u2019s ride<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The new \u201cRolling to Remember\u201d Demonstration Run will take place over Memorial Day weekend 2020.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the final ride last May, President Donald Trump vowed that the tradition would return this year. Officials from AMVETS spent the last nine months restructuring the event into the \u201cRolling to Remember\u201d ride, designed not only to highlight Americans still missing in action but also the problem of veterans suicides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But when the coronavirus pandemic hit earlier this spring, those plans were scuttled. A large-scale rally around the nation\u2019s most prominent military monuments before Memorial Day was cancelled for the second time in 12 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/amvets.org\/\" target=_blank>AMVETS <\/a>leaders have moved the event online, with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/rollingtoremember\/\" target=_blank>two-hour presentation planned for Saturday morning<\/a> and a partnership with the navigation app Rever to allow participants to record their own 22-mile tribute rides throughout the weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The group\u2019s live streams will be simulcast on corporate partner sites like Harley Davidson, Papa Johns and USAA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And the White House is expected to welcome a small group of riders on Friday morning to kick off the Memorial Day weekend, with remarks from the president about the importance of the holiday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re really hopeful we can still generate a strong conversation about those POW\/MIA missions, and veterans suicide,\u201d said Joe Chenelly, national executive director for AMVETS. \u201cWe\u2019re using technology to bring the demonstration into people\u2019s homes this year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But several hundred cyclists \u2014 including MacDonald \u2014 are still expected to hit the streets of the nation\u2019s capital this Saturday. Chenelly said his group has been actively discouraging any large meet-ups, but are hosting some smaller expeditions across the city to keep the event spirit alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2020\/05\/13\/va-cemeteries-will-open-to-the-public-on-memorial-day-but-wreath-laying-ceremonies-will-be-closed\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"212\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1146336857.JPG.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">VA cemeteries will open to the public on Memorial Day, but wreath-laying ceremonies will be closed<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">VA is also offering virtual memorials for families of deceased veterans as an alternative way to commemorate their lives.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">MacDonald said he usually spends more than 12 hours at the massive rally, driving from site to site and bonding with fellow veterans. This year, his round trip from home is likely to take only a few hours, but he still believes it&#8217;s an important journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA lot of folks are still trying to pull some plans together, to do something to mark the weekend,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">MacDonald said his plans include rolling along the National Mall and making a stop at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf the park police aren\u2019t letting people in there, then I\u2019ll just drive a little further,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m not looking to cause problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBut I will be driving slowly down the main streets, obeying all the appropriate traffic laws, so people can see me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The massive Rolling Thunder ride brought tens of thousands of riders to Washington, D.C. last year, but coronavirus and event complications will mean a very different tribute this weekend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":6130,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[67,100,23,93,12,25,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3334],"class_list":["post-56707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-coronavirus","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"I6K6KVN22VBQNEF6MC7RBMJZNU","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/2020\/05\/21\/this-years-annual-memorial-day-motorcycle-ride-will-be-quieter-than-past-rallies-but-not-silent\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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