More than 850 motorcyclists will pour onto the freeways Wednesday morning, May 13, 2026 for the Run For The Wall, the annual trek from Ontario to the Memorial Day weekend ceremony at the Vietnam Wall in Washington D.C.
They won’t be riding completely alone as each rider has dedicated their pilgrimage across the country to someone who once gave service to the country while serving in a military uniform.
Randall and Maria Fields, Cheryl Rex and Ed Brundage know the rigors they will face on the road are minimal compared to the sacrifices made by those for whom they have dedicated their trips.
All the Run For The Wall riders will depart beginning at 7 a.m. Wednesday, May 13 from the Ontario Convention Center parking lot, 2000 E Convention Center Way. The ride, which began in 1989, crosses the country via three routes, stopping for meals and fuel, and a lot of cheers in many small towns along the way.
For Randall and Maria Fields, it will be a new experience. They have often volunteered at the Ontario Elks Lodge, which has served as the headquarters and kickoff site for the run over the past three years. As Elks members, they heard the stories told by riders about their experiences in the military as well as past trips to Washington, D.C.
They decided to join the ride this year, but before leaving they knew it was necessary to find someone to whom each would dedicate the trip.
“So I asked my dad who served in Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division to suggest someone,” said Randall Fields, an Ontario native now living in Bellflower.
In an emotional recollection by his father, he learned the story of Pfc. Darryl Messer of Tolleson, Arizona. The 18-year-old soldier died in the arms of Fields’ father after a savage firefight in a jungle ambush in 1965. Messer had been in Vietnam for less than a month.
“He never got to grow up, never had a family or children,” Fields said, after hearing about Messer and his death. “I realize I was so lucky to get to know my dad and live my life being around him.”
In fact, his father, Martin Fields of Ontario, will volunteer at the Elks Lodge during the week helping riders prepare for the 10-day ride.
And Maria Fields has her own dedication for the trip as she proudly wears a Marine cap to honor her daughter, who recently completed a four-year enlistment in the Marine Corps.
She also listened as her father-in-law related the events in which Pfc. Messer died and understands why her husband wanted to make the trip.
“I am feeling grateful for having the opportunity of traveling on a motorcycle for all the families who can’t make the trip,” she said. “I consider it a privilege to honor all veterans in this ride.”
While it will be a new experience for the Fields, it will be very familiar for Brundage, who has been on the ride across the country almost every year since 2008. A retired Marine and Vietnam veteran, he will serve as the coordinator of the Midway route, one of three caravans crossing the country.
It’s been the practice of the Oceanside resident each year to select someone for whose memory he will carry with him. He will dedicate the ride this year to a young member of the Marine Corps who died in Afghanistan and was awarded the Navy Cross, though he has decided to keep his name private.
Remembering that soldier’s death, Brundage will also take the so-called Sandbox route, an extra three-day trip to Marseilles, Illinois, and its Middle East Conflicts Wall Memorial. It holds the names of almost 8,000 Americans who have died in action in the Middle East as well as other lesser-known U.S. military actions around the world.
Making these cross-country treks has a special importance for Brundage, who like many soldiers who returned home from Vietnam service were ignored and even ridiculed despite the sacrifices they made. After being later plagued with PTSD and alcohol use, he was invited to take his first ride 18 years ago. For him, it was a life-changing experience receiving the cheers and well-wishes from crowds along the way.
“That 10-day ride took all of the angry out of my soul,” he said. “Before then, I avoided going to the Vietnam Wall but on that trip I was able to go up to it and look at the many names I knew and talked to them. It was so cathartic.”
Rex of Rancho Cucamonga will not participate this year in the Ride, but it’s for a very special reason.
On Memorial Day, May 25, at 9 a.m. she will participate in the dedication of the Gold Star Memorial in Rancho Cucamonga’s Central Park, a memorial sponsored by her and her family to honor her son, Dylan Merola, and others who have died in the nation’s service.
Her son, a Marine, was killed at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2021. He and 12 other service members died from a suicide bombing while the military was in the process of departing from that war-torn country.
Two years ago, Rex drove her motorcycle all the way to Washington D.C., a ride she dedicated to her son’s memory.
Completing the trip was unexpected because she had planned to only ride as far as New Mexico, and then return home. The best-laid plans sometimes suddenly go awry.
She became probably one of the first Gold Star Mothers to participate in the ride. She went farther than planned as she received special greetings and much appreciation through each town.
“I only brought two changes of clothes for the trip because I only intended to ride for a day or two,” Rex said. “But I just kept going day after day until we reached Washington. Everyone helped me get through it.”
And the ride helped her in her grieving.
“It was very helpful for me,” she said. “I felt my son was riding right with us. It was amazing. Everywhere we went, I knew he was riding along side of me.”
The riders are divided into three groups each of about 250 or 300 bikes. On Wednesday, one group departs via the 10 Freeway on the Southern route across the country, while the Central and Midway groups take the 15 Freeway north and then head east for two days on the 40 Freeway. In New Mexico, those two groups split and take different routes, said Carol Olmstead of Simi Valley who is Southern California coordinator for the event.
At most breaks and during evening stops, the riders are greeted by local groups, providing meals and even free fuel to show support.
“On our rides, we see what I call Middle America — people who are not excessively patriotic types, just regular people who just want to come out and say ‘hi’ to a lot of veterans,” Brundage said. “It is a truly gratifying experience.”
For the riders on the Southern route – to Washington by way of the Southern states – they will be welcomed in Coachella an hour into the ride. The Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians, at their Shelee’s Travel Center, will provide the riders free fuel as well as food, snacks, drinks and lots of water. Representatives of the Marine Corps Air Ground Center have also been invited.
For more information about the day-to-day ride, go to rftw.us