In 1989, Vietnam Veterans James Gregory and Bill Evans decided to serve their country once more. They traveled across America on motorcycles to raise awareness for Prisoners of War (POWs) and those Missing in Action (MIAs). Their trip has turned into an annual event known as Run For The Wall (RFTW).
Run For the Wall’s mission is To promote healing among ALL veterans and their families and friends, to call for an accounting of all Prisoners of War and those Missing in Action (POW/MIA), to honor the memory of those Killed in Action (KIA) from all wars, and to support our military personnel all over the world.
The 10-day trip, scheduled for May 13-24, begins in California and ends at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The finale is the Rolling Thunder Parade on the Sunday night before Memorial Day, where bikers ride from the Pentagon to the Wall. Over 300,000 bikers will participate.
Six years ago, Mission M25 Director and Senior Pastor Gary Burd got involved with RFTW. As a part of Evangelism USA, Mission M25 exists to network those who reach out to the Matthew 25 people groups. Gary was already working with veterans through the biker ministry at his church (Christian Heritage Church) in Amarillo, TX.
“A Vietnam veteran came up to me and said, ‘Gary, didn’t we fight for the freedom of religion,’” recalls Gary. “And I said yes. He asked, ‘Then why isn’t the church involved in [Run For The Wall]?’”
The IPHC leads the way for the church’s outreach on the Southern Route. The team serves as Chaplains and servant riders, handing out letters to veterans and serving up some 10,000 bottles of water and sport drinks from our hydration trailer. Upon arrival in Washington DC there will be teams from two IPHC churches to serve food in two different campgrounds. There will be approximately 75 people working along the route and in the campgrounds. Finally there will be Mission:M25 men and women on the Pentagon Parking Lot ministering while waiting to ride in Rolling Thunder. On the back of the trailer is an IPHC banner thanking veterans for their service.
“Mission M25 is the ‘point of the spear’ for the IPHC in honoring our veterans,” said Dr. Ronald Carpenter, Sr., director of EVUSA. “We deeply appreciate the leadership of Bishop Gary Burd and the faithful efforts of all the Mission M25 team members in the Run For The Wall event. In doing so, they are reminding the IPHC of the sacrifices of our armed forces and also giving us a great opportunity to honor them in a very special way!”
To learn more about Run For The Wall, visit the IPHC blog or visit the RFTW website.
Support Gary and Mission:M25 as they Run For The Wall!
Keep up with RFTW 2009 online! You can follow the team see pictures from the road in two ways:
- Visit the IPHC News blog for daily updates and photos.
- Sign up for the For Your Information Specialty Newsletter and receive an update via email every day – [which will also be posted at here at M25’s Website]
Daily updates will begin Tuesday, May 12 and will conclude after the Rolling Thunder Rally May 24.
Source: NETworkings Volume 4 Number May 8, 2009
