By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

It was a sunny, windy Sunday afternoon  as local supporters gathered on the Commerce Parkway overpass east of Hays to wave at motorcyclists headed east on Interstate 70.

The “Run for the Wall” participants came in several waves, small groups of five or six first, followed by the biggest core group of a 100 or so bikes bound to Washington. 

There are three separate runs, each starting in California, with riders joining along the way.

Hays American Legion Post 173 Riders Lambert Staab and his son, Larry Staab, joined the group in Goodland, according to Post 173 historian Kelly Smith. It’s the northernmost route. They are scheduled to arrive at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial this weekend to participate in Memorial Day ceremonies Monday honoring all veterans.

The crowd of greeters in Hays was smaller than in the past eight years after a last-minute conference with the Kansas Department of Transportation, which was concerned about safety and limited the number of people and motorcycles atop the overpass.

No matter, said ALR director Tony Smith:

The purpose of the annual Run for the Wall, according to their website, 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, to honor the memory of those killed in action from all wars, and to support U.S. military personnel around the world.