Rolling Thunder's annual motorcycle event "Ride for Freedom" is in its 20th year (1988-2008). The ride of about 400,000 veterans calls attention to POW-MIA issues (Prisoners of War- Missing in Action). The original mission of Rolling Thunder was to protest the government's inactions regarding POW-MIA's of the Vietnam War, but now includes protection of future veterans and is committed to helping veterans of all wars. During the event, on a closed DC street called "Thunder Alley," patches are sold and sewn on jackets and vests. "Bikers," culturally, wear allegiances, convictions, and attitudes on their person in the form of patches.

We worked with a group of veterans who participate in Rolling Thunder annually. Patches were the materials for our exchange. We asked the biker-veterans what they would say if they had the ear of Congress. We had blank patches made and gave the group fabric markers to write their message. The patches would then be sewn onto a jacket and used to bring the message of our participants to other social and cultural spheres. We had patches made representing the Floating Lab Collective as well, with which to make an exchange.

This group was camping nearby for the week of Rolling Thunder. They consisted of active and retired cross-country truckers, prison guards, and union activists. Members of the Floating Lab Collective first spent time with the veterans by their campfire "hanging out" and talking, but mostly listening. They are Vietnam and Gulf War Veterans who had a lot to say about war and pain and healing. They wrote phrases on patches they created, and each veteran signed their patch.

The biker culture is very concerned with trust, and trust that must be earned. We learned that privileging someone's voice by simply listening earns trust. We spent time and listened to stories about post-traumatic stress and the horrific stories that constituted the trauma. We listened as they told us about the pain of being treated as villains when they came home as veterans from Vietnam. As one veteran said, he wants to tell these stories not for himself, but for all those veterans who suffer in silence.

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[1] "Tax Dollars for the VA are meant for the veterans NOT for elected official's pet projects!!" - Phill
[2] "Politicians start wars- the military finishes them."- Howard
[3] "We have to speak for those who can't speak for themselves." - Pete
[4] "I fought but I'll never forget" -Jimx
[5] "All wounds do not bleed- Some never really came home. They just ask why." -Pete "for my brother"
[6] "Until you've experienced what I have, don't assume you can understand." -Jeff
[7] "If you can't back us stand in front of us."- Homeless Bill."