25th Rolling Thunder comes roaring into Washington
Sunday - 5/27/2012, 7:47pm ET
Gallery: (8 images)
WASHINGTON - Hundreds of thousands of motorcycles roared into D.C. Sunday for the 25th annual Rolling Thunder motorcycle ride.
About 400,000 men and women on motorcycles met up in the parking lot for the Pentagon. At noon, the long procession started the ride to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall.
The riders come from all over the country. Many are veterans themselves, but many are not.
"We're just here to support all veterans, and all the guys out there fighting," says a man riding with his 12-year-old daughter.
Thousands of others don't ride with the group. Instead many ride their motorcycles down to the mall and watch the procession from the sidelines.
Police have shut down Washington Boulevard near the Pentagon until 4 p.m. The Memorial Bridge and Memorial Circle be closed until 5 p.m.
On the mall, a special program of speakers and musical tribute to veterans is planned between 1:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.
This year's featured speakers are Bob and Jani Bergdahl, the parents of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who has been held captive by the Taliban in Afghanistan since 2009.
The ride pays tribute to veterans and service members who never made it home.
The Rolling Thunder rally was preceded by the Ride of the Patriots in Fairfax.
Follow WTOP on Twitter.
(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)
