A group of South Carolina Legion Riders have made it an annual event to clean up either the Korean War Veteran Memorial or the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
In 2012, a group of South Carolina American Legion Riders reached out to the National Park Service about heading up to Washington, D.C., to take part in a clean-up effort at one of the veterans memorials in the nation’s capital. The result was the Riders performing such duties at the Korean War Veterans Memorial.
After taking a few years off, the Riders resumed their efforts in 2018 and have taken part in some sort of clean-up effort at either the Korean War Veterans Memorial or Vietnam Veterans Memorial every year, with the exception of once during the coronavirus pandemic and another due to weather.
The most recent effort took place Sept. 20 when 30 motorcycles carrying South Carolina Riders from seven different ALR chapters headed north, bringing with them members of two South Carolina Girl Scout Troops, to clean up the Vietnam Wall.
L.Z. Harrison, a past state ALR director and current commander of Richland County Post 6 in Columbia, has taken part in all of the clean-up efforts. Though it results in putting more than 1,000 miles round-trip on his motorcycle, it’s worth it.
“It provides therapy for us, I think. For us to be able to give back,” Harrison said. “It’s an honor to go up there and do that and look at the names. I even had a friend who asked me to take a picture of a name for his father, who served in Vietnam and lost a buddy. I did more than that. I was able to make a pencil etching of it and take it back to him. It helps us show our thanks and appreciation to Vietnam veterans.”
It also gives the Riders an opportunity to interact with older veterans. “Every time we go up there are always a few Honor Flights that are also up there, and we run into them at various places through the weekend: at museums or memorials or whatever,” Harrison said. “It’s awesome to see their faces light up when they see the motorcycles and learn what we’re in town for.”
In addition to representatives from Chapter 6, other participants were from Dalzell-Shaw Chapter 175 in Dalzell, Chapter 193 in Chapin, Chapter 101 in Pelion, Chapter 166 in Goose Creek, Chapter 71 in North Augusta and Chapter 178 in Murrells Inlet. Also traveling with the group and assisting with the clean-up effort were immediate Past Department of South Carolina Commander Bruce Donegan and First Vice Commander Jack Lonergan.
In addition, members of Girl Scout Troops 626 and 3327 in Pelion also traveled with the group and took part in the effort. “They bring up five to seven girls to help out,” Harrison said. “They get a chance to meet some of the veterans and talk to the veterans, just like we do with the Honor Flights. They do the same with us to understand what the Wall means and the importance of the Vietnam veterans.
“This time, after we finished washing the Wall, we had two Vietnam veterans in our group, and we gave them the opportunity to speak. Of course, they were emotional and talked about how much they appreciated it and what the Wall meant to them. It gave the kids, as well as us, a better understanding of why it’s important to take care of it.”
And for the second year in a row, a small group of Riders were able to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, this time from Post 175. A year ago, Harrison was part of the wreath-laying ceremony.
“That’s the honor of the lifetime right there,” Harrison said. “It’s something that presidents and world leaders have done for years. To have the opportunity to pay our respects and to be there to do that, that is just an overwhelming feeling.”
- Riders