This is the second year Keith and Carolyn Maupin have traveled from Ohio to join the chrome-covered throng of bikers cruising to the Lincoln Memorial.
This is the second year they haven’t heard from their 22-year-old son, Army Sgt. Keith Matt Maupin, who was in Iraq but now is classified as “captured, whereabouts unknown.”
Rolling Thunder, a New Jersey-based motorcycle organization that plans the annual ride from the Pentagon to the memorial, helped the Maupins travel to D.C. and gave them rides on the back of their bikes for the main event, which draws more than 300,000 hogs, choppers and more.
“I would have never guessed we’d be where we are,” said Carolyn Maupin, who last saw her son on an Al-Jazeera tape on April 16, 2004.
The cheering crowds and the guttural roar of motorcycle engines have become bittersweet sounds for Maupin.
“I know then that Matt isn’t forgotten. … It puts tears in your eyes, and it just makes you feel good inside,” she said.
Her other son, Cpl. Micah Maupin, specializes in helicopter radios and is stationed in California.
The ride is about “bringing awareness to the people, in general, about the fact that there have been prisoners left behind from all wars and … getting accountability from our government so they take care of our veterans,” said Anne Nicholson, 43, of New Jersey.
According to Rolling Thunder, more than 92,000 U.S. troops have yet to make it home from wars abroad and are classified as either missing in action or prisoner of war.
“I ride because I am a veteran,” said Todd Greathouse, 39, of Colonial Beach, Va. The Persian Gulf vet added that the ride showed unity for the cause.
“I think it is nice they get together and celebrate,” said Renee Oakes, 42, of Fredericksburg, as she left a christening at Shiloh Baptist Church in Old Town. “That’s what I’m talking about!” she yelled as a woman piloted her Harley past the church.
“We definitely appreciate everyone’s support,” said Sgt. 1st Class Ana Paye, who watched the bikers roar past while on her way to a memorial for her battalion, the Army’s 101st Airborne, at Arlington National Cemetery.
“I like it, but I don’t like the traffic. It’s terrible,” said Frank Xie, 34, a downtown D.C. tour bus driver from Bethesda.
History of the thunder
» Founded by Artie Muller and Ray Manzo in a diner in Somerville, N.J.
» First ride of 2,500 Harley Davidsons to the Capitol was in 1998.
» Named after the sound of the 1965 bombing campaign against North Vietnam called Operation Rolling Thunder.
» Nearly half of Rolling Thunder’s official members are veterans.
» Rolling Thunder has helped advocate for several pieces of legislation ensuring veterans and POW/MIA rights.
» Rolling Thunder members donate thousands of hours of volunteer time at their local VA hospitals and other veteran-related organizations.
