The Wall That Heals

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Support for Parkinson’s disease sufferers blended perfectly with a desire to honor America’s veterans Tuesday as 300 motorcycles escorted The Wall That Heals to Freedom Hall’s Liberty Bell track.

Among the bikers was Mike Johnston of Bristol, Tenn., a veteran who has Parkinson’s and, as a member of the Northeast Tennessee Parkinson’s Disease Support Group has traveled more than 23,000 miles on his bike to champion efforts to find a cure.

“There’s a lot of days I can’t ride because the tremors are so bad, but other days I can ride as good as I ever could,” Johnston said. And being a part of Tuesday’s procession was a good day, he could ride and champion both of his causes: his fellow veterans and his desire to find a cure for Parkinson’s disease.

The Wall That Heals is a half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial that sits on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The half-scale version travels the country, giving people a chance to pay their respects to those who died in the Vietnam War, said Richard “Gunny” Lyons with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.

“This is for people who can’t get to Washington,” Lyons said, adding that The Wall That Heals can attract crowds of 4,000 to 10,000 people when it is on display.

It also brings large escorts of motorcycle riders organized by veteran’s support groups, including Rolling Thunder.

“This is the biggest deal that Rolling Thunder has worked with,” said Larkey Tyree, the road captain for Rolling Thunder’s Tri-Cities chapter. “It’s all about the veterans.”

Tyree said his chapter organized a 2.5-mile-long procession of motorcycles, fire trucks, police cars and other vehicles that met The Wall That Heals just outside Knoxville, Tenn., and led it to Freedom Hall.

Johnston said he joined the procession on behalf of veterans and to fight a disease so many of them now face.

Parkinson’s disease is 10 times more prevalent among Vietnam and Gulf War veterans than among the general population, Johnston said. And he is among those who believe the high incidence of Parkinson’s among veterans is due to their exposure to Agent Orange or other toxins while in combat.

Johnston said he recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to ask lawmakers to spend more money on finding a cure for the disease among veterans. It’s one of the many trips he’s made on his motorcycle to draw attention to Parkinson’s.

“We’ve got to find a cure,” Johnston said.

The Wall That Heals will open to the public this afternoon, Lyons said. It will be open and staffed 24 hours a day until about 8 a.m. Monday when it will be packed back into its truck for the trip to its next stop, Wilmington, N.C.

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