Expect to see motorcycles filling the streets of downtown Perryville on Sept. 20 and 21 as a group of veterans and motorcycle enthusiasts participate in the 12th annual Bikers on the Square.
Organizer Robynne Duvall recalled how the Bikers on the Square event began.
“Whenever we started the downtown revitalization committee, we were trying to figure out how to get more people in our downtown area so we could get more businesses, and this was one of the first downtown revitalization events,” she said. “Watching the Bikers on the Square for Veterans event continue to grow each year is awesome, and seeing so many people from so many states is great!”
The bikers’ event will coincide with the Fifth Annual Missouri Vietnam Wall Run, sponsored by the Veterans in Defense of Liberty and the Liberty Riders of America. It was timed in conjunction with National POW/MIA Recognition Day on Friday and the annual Bikers on the Square event in Perryville on Saturday.
During the inaugural 2019 Wall Run Program, Governor Mike Parson presented a proclamation recognizing the Vietnam Wall Run as “The Official Annual Ride of Remembrance in Missouri.”
This multi-statewide motorcycle run will ride to the veterans’ memorial event and the Veterans’ Memorial Wall in Perryville — the only identical Sister Wall to the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. A ceremony will take place Saturday with featured keynote speaker Retired Colonel John Clark, who flew over 60 successful missions in North Vietnam and was a POW imprisoned at the infamous Hanoi Hilton. Retired Colonel Jack Jackson, a famed Harrier Pilot in the Vietnam War, will be a special guest.
“The Saluting Marine,” Veteran Staff Sgt. Tim Chambers, USMC, will join the event again this year as a special guest. Chambers is well known to the world for standing at attention for hours during the Rolling Thunder event held each Memorial Day weekend in Washington D.C. as a demonstration supporting the need for accountability of America’s POW/MIA.
Missouri Vietnam Wall Run will join Bikers on the Square for the veterans’ bike rally on the Perryville town square, offering free live music, veterans’ events, food, and vendors. The city of Perryville and Bikers on the Square will turn out for a patriotic welcome to the Missouri Vietnam Wall Run on Saturday during an exciting motorcycle Parade of Honor escorted by Law Enforcement motorcycles and with The Saluting Marine standing at attention at the town square.
“We encourage spectators to come out when the parade goes through town around 12:30,” Duvall said. “We get lots of flags from the local organizations. We like to line the streets with people holding flags to welcome them to our community.”
Riders will be able to meet up at various locations for the ride to Perryville.
– The Kansas City route meets at 11:30 a.m. at QuikTrip in Harrisonville on Thursday, Sept. 19.
– The Springfield route will meet at Mike’s Unique’s at 7:30 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 20.
– The St. Louis route will meet at VFW Post 2593 in Arnold at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21.
– The Illinois route meets at the Red Rooster Terminal in Olney, Ill., at 7:30 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 20.
– The Indiana route meets at Loves Truck Stop, 901 E 1250 S., Exit 25B on Hwy 64, in Haubstadt, Ind., on Friday, Sept. 20
– All riders wanting to participate will rendezvous between 10:15 and 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, at Fredericktown City Hall, 124 W Main St., for a group, law enforcement-led Parade of Honor to the Perryville Veterans Memorial Wall.
It is also permissible to meet anywhere along the route stops. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend this free event. For a full schedule, updates and more information, go to www.missourivietnamwallrun.org, the Missouri Vietnam Wall Run Facebook page, or call 573-915-2437.
