Running for the Wall

The sound of rolling thunder roared Friday down Interstate 20 as hundreds of motorcyclists from all over the country ran through Odessa on their way to "the wall."

"Cowboy" Roger Mead, Run for the Wall XX southern route coordinator, said the welcome the riders received once they entered Odessa left him speechless.

"The outpouring of support is always overwhelming," Mead said after he made it to Ray's Equipment for dinner. "It chokes me up."

The motor cycle riders are making their way to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Run for the Wall Road Guard Joe Spelman said the ride to D.C. is a way to remember the soldiers lost in Vietnam.

"We all have things we have to deal with involving the war," Spelman said. "We all lost friends. We were all treated the same way when we got home from war."

Spelman said it's also a way to make sure the soldiers of this generation don't get treated the same way.

"Now it's more like, ‘OK, we need to make sure they don't get what we got,' " he said. "We've done our time and now they're doing theirs. It's the veterans time to support them."

Like many others, road guard John King said trip into Odessa was heartwarming.

"Being welcomed the way we were was like the sun came up and God blessed us," King said. "We had people starting 20 miles outside of Odessa welcoming us."

King said Odessa's quite patriotic and has a lot in common with the rest of the country.

"Every city is unique," he said. "What every city has in common is that they respect their veterans, and that they're patriotic."

Spelman said that's why he likes making the yearly trip through Odessa.

"Very nice people are here, and they respect their veterans," he said. "I want to thank Odessa. That's our theme this year for the ride, thank you.