CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Over 300 Vietnam veterans and other military service members, their friends and their families are all riding for the wall in honor of their service and to show support for one another.

It’s the 35th Annual Run For the Wall motorcycle event where a group of riders gather in Ontario, California and make the 10-day cross-country trek to the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington D.C.

And, one of the last stops the group makes is in the Capital City in Charleston where they had then acquired about 330 riders. 

They rode to the state Capitol grounds to see the Veterans Memorial Wall there on Thursday morning.

U.S. Air Force Veteran Hans Henneberque said this ride is something you never forget.

“It is a very unique experience, one that you can try to explain and it really doesn’t work,” Henneberque said. “There’s a tremendous amount of camaraderie, there is a tremendous amount of healing for veterans.”

First time rider a part of the event and 21-year Air Force Veteran Jeff Kiewiet said it has been way more emotional than he anticipated, and he didn’t expect to see so many supporters at all of the stops they have made along the way.

“I think everyone gets a lot out of it, when we drive underneath those overpasses and all of the people are out, that really shows us a lot of support and I think that really energizes everyone, and it’s pretty important to them,” Kiewiet said.

Along with the 35th anniversary of the event this year, the veterans were also acknowledging the 50th Anniversary of the Fall of Saigon that marked the end of the Vietnam War.

Run For the Wall Public Relations Director Ted Kapner told MetroNews that riders and veterans come from all over the country to take part in the event, some even from other countries such as Canada.

He said Run For the Wall started out as a small group of about 30 or so Vietnam Veteran riders in 1989 and has only continued to grow over the years.

However, Kapner said in more recent years, the event has receded in numbers due to an aging population of Vietnam vets who have now either stopped riding or who have passed on.

He said they have now been trying to re-grow in number by reaching out to the younger generations of veterans who had fought in the Global War on Terror in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Kapner said one way they have fulfilled this outreach is through adding on another ride that is smaller in distance as to accommodate the younger riders who may still be holding down full-time jobs and cant make the three longer routes.

“About two or three years ago, we started a fourth route called the Sandbox Route, and that runs from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington D.C. to the Middle East Conflict Memorial Wall in Marseilles, Illinois,” Kapner said.

He said that ride takes only about two and a half days.

U.S. Navy Veteran who served for eight years in the Desert Storm Conflict, Thomas Mirabella said this event helps raise funds for the vets to support all of the programs that support them.

He said vets need all the support they can get.

“We’re losing too many everyday, and that’s our main goal, is to help our brothers and sisters,” Mirabella said.

Kapner said that this ride is not just for veterans, but for all of the families and patriots, like himself, who support them as well.

“We’re out here supporting our veterans making sure that the public knows that freedom comes at a price and some have paid the ultimate price, and we want to make sure that their names are never forgotten,” Kapner said.

Henneberque said that when Vietnam vets returned home from the war in 1975, they were not treated with the same level of kindness and respect as they are now, some even being spat on and called names all because of the politics at the time surrounding the war.

He said since then, he believes Vietnam vets have really helped change the climate of how all veterans are treated through all of the programs and events they have created following their return, such as Run For the Wall.

Henneberque said it’s an important event to continue as it’s a way to garner the support and respect they deserve.

“I think it’s a wonderful thing, it is a part of healing, healing the nation, and developing an understanding that men and women go off to war not by choice, but they fight for freedom and for the country.”

This year, the riders left California on May 14 and expect to arrive in D.C. this Saturday.