NITRO, W.Va – Hundreds of motorcycles will rumble through the Kanawha Valley later this week as the 38th Run For The Wall passes through Nitro on the way to Washington, D.C..
Run For the Wall will arrive at Nitro Living Memorial Park on Wednesday at 5:00 pm for a presentation ceremony with residents invited to join in support of military veterans.
“Run For The Wall was started in 1989 by a Vietnam veteran. He got tired of the way the country and the population treated the Vietnam veterans, and his main goal was to never forget the ones that made the ultimate sacrifice for our country,” Todd Taylor, West Virginia State Coordinator for Run For The Wall, said.
The annual motorcycle ride welcomes veterans, family, and friends to ride across the country to promote healing, call for an accounting of all prisoners of war and those missing in action, honor the memory of those killed in action, and support military personnel around the world. This year’s ride began in Ontario, CA, last Wednesday and continues on to Washington, DC, for a wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.
“We’re split up among three different routes. We have a central route, a midway route, and a southern route, and pretty much it’s split up evenly, and right there on day nine and day ten, we all converge back into Washington, DC on the Friday before Memorial Day,” Taylor said.
This year marks the 38th edition of the Run For The Wall, and Nitro has become a favorite stop along the route. Places like Nitro are crucial to the ride each year because the people step up to support in a big way.
“Maybe these people aren’t able to ride their motorcycles across the country showing their support, but they fuel us. They feed us to show their support. These communities, they just open their arms to us every single day,” Taylor said.
Nitro remains one of the most active communities in West Virginia when it comes to supporting veterans through public events. With this year’s visit along the Run For The Wall, the town is expected to be buzzing with excitement.
“We need people just to get the word out. It’s just a pleasure for me just to get our mission out and just talk to everybody about it,” Taylor said.
The presentation ceremony for Run For The Wall is scheduled to begin at 5:15 pm on Wednesday, shortly after riders arrive at Nitro Living Memorial Park.