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By John Higgins PEO IEW&S Public Affairs

Memorial Day in Washington D.C. is a busy, yet solemn affair. A majority of the city’s architecture is Neo Classical, a style of marble and white stone evoking ancient cities as much as America.

But never far from any of these buildings and their symbolism is memorial to the fallen service members who paid the ultimate price, and the living gather in the District for a new American ritual: the Freedom Ride.

Retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal once said, “It’s an axiom in the Army that soldiers write the checks but families pay the bills. And war increases both the accuracy of that statement and the cost families pay.” When service members pay the ultimate price, it’s the families that continue on Earth that are paying the interest.

Many people come together in the Nation’s Capital for the annual Freedom Ride and among them, Paul Barsamian, a veteran turned DoD civilian, who volunteered to support one of the many Gold Star Families who attend the event. Barsamian, a clean cut motorcycle enthusiast, met with April Brandon, Gold Star Wife, who lost her husband, Army Staff Sgt. Stacy Brandon.
“The ride was amazing!” said Brandon. “My driver [Barsamian] was not concerned with revving the engine or how fast he rounded the corners – he allowed me to slowly take in the experience and actually enjoy being on the back of a bike.”

Barsamian has served as a Gold Star escort for people like Brandon for seven years. “I volunteer to serve as an escort for Gold Star Mothers, wives, and family members because it is a special honor to spend time with those who have lost their loved ones while serving our great nation,” said Barsamian. “Over the years I have developed special bonds with each and every Gold Star mother; spending the weekend with them listening to their stories laughing and crying with them while being their escort as we ride through our nation’s capital.”

According to the Rolling Thunder website the first event took place over Memorial Day weekend 1988. The founders Artie Muller and Ray Manzo, reached out to their families, fellow veterans and veteran’s advocates to unify and form a march and demonstration in the nation’s Capital. Their arrival would be announced by the roar of their motorcycles, a sound not unlike the 1965 bombing campaign against North Vietnam dubbed Operation Rolling Thunder.

Since 1998, the number of participants/spectators in the Memorial Day weekend Ride for Freedom has grown from 2,500 to an estimated 900,000.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]