Friday, October 2, 2026
Cloudy, 67°Wind: mph,
Welcome to our new web site!
To give our readers a chance to experience all that our new website has to offer, we have made all content freely avaiable, through October 1, 2018.
During this time, print and digital subscribers will not need to log in to view our stories or e-editions.
Hundreds of motorcycles rolled into Las Cruces on May 14 as veterans and supporters traveling across the country stopped in the city during this year’s Run for the Wall ride to Washington, D.C. ahead of Memorial Day weekend.
The group arrived at Elks Lodge No. 1119 Thursday evening after riding from Arizona as part of the Southern Route, one of several cross-country routes tied to the annual veteran's motorcycle ride focused on honoring prisoners of war, those missing in action and service members killed in combat.
Riders and volunteers gathered outside the lodge as motorcycles lined the parking lot, many decorated with military insignias, American flags and memorial bracelets bearing the names of fallen service members. James Gregory, known among riders by the road name “Gunny,” said he helped start Run for the Wall in 1989 and has spent decades participating in the ride.
“We started in Ontario a couple of days ago, Ontario, California, and headed to Washington, D.C. for Memorial Day weekend,” Gregory said. “We’ll be on the road 10 days.”
Gregory, a Marine Corps veteran, said the ride continues serving as both a memorial and a way to support veterans whose stories are still unfinished.
“I have these three Marines right here that I lost in combat in 1975,” Gregory said while pointing at the bracelets he wears during the ride. “Hardgrove, Hall and Marshall.”
He said one of the most meaningful moments from this year’s ride happened earlier in Arizona after meeting the brother of a missing Vietnam veteran.
“He took off his brother’s bracelet and said, ‘Would you take it back to the wall?’” Gregory said. “So, this Sergeant is going to ride with me, and I’m going to take a photo of this gentleman at the wall where he’s missing.”
Gregory said support from communities along the route helps make the cross-country trip possible for riders.
“We couldn’t do this without support,” Gregory said. “It’s just amazing.”
Among the riders stopping in Las Cruces was Angie “Denmother” Holterman, ambassador team lead and merchandise director for Run for the Wall. Holterman said she began participating in the ride in 2016 after wanting to support veterans and learn more about their experiences.
“Since I’m not a veteran, it’s just a little thank you to all the veterans out there,” Holterman said. “You get to hear stories and let them know that they matter.”
Holterman said the ride changed the way she viewed memorials connected to the Vietnam War and veterans lost in combat.
“When you do this ride, they become actual people,” Holterman said while describing visits to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington. “One veteran one year said, ‘I don’t see the names, but I see faces.’”
She said communities across the country regularly wait for riders to arrive, even when convoys run behind schedule.
“You see the patriotism across the United States,” Holterman said. “They’re going to stand holding the flags knowing that we’re not coming in on time.”
Holterman said the mission of the ride remains centered on remembering service members who never returned home.
“We ride for those who can’t, and we ride for the POWs and the MIAs still missing,” Holterman said.
Organizers estimated roughly 350 riders were traveling the Southern Route by the time the group reached Las Cruces. According to organizers, riders gathered again the following morning for breakfast hosted by the American Legion before making a stop at Veterans Memorial Park ahead of continuing east toward Washington, D.C.
