11:

ii
Jill Dubisch
Pilgrin~hges involve ritually structured travel that physically removes people from their eve-
ryday lives as they journey to places that evoke important, often life-changing, emotions. As
a ritual, pilgrimages are structL:Lred around repetitive acts that symbolize past events, places,
stories, and meanings. They involve a ritual of separation, a liminal period, and a final
reincorporation into normal life for those who embark on them. We often associate pilgrim-
ages with religion, but they may also occur in more secular contexts with much the same
effect. This is the case for a pilgrimage called the Run for the Wall, described by Jill Dubisch
in this article. The "run" is a pilgrimage undertaken by motorcyclists who travel for ten days
each spring from Los Angeles to Washington, D. C., to commemorate soldiers lost during the
Vietnam War. Started years ago by Vietnam veterans, it has grown to include other riders
over the years as well. After they leave Los Angeles, riders cross the United States, stopping
in towns along the way and occasionally participating in commemorations dedicated to the
memory of veterans. Additional riders may join the run along the way, while others may
drop out. Those who make it to Washington visit "the wall," their name for the Vietnam
War Memorial bearing the names of all those who died in the war. Finally, they participate
in "rolling thunder," a parade of thousands of motorcyclists ending at the U.S. Capitol, as
a way to honor and "remember" soldiers who were captured, missing, and killed in the

275
276 PART EIGH'I' Religion, Magic, and Worldview
C H A P T 1<'; R a O · ·, Run for the WaU: An American Pilgrimage
277
.. , . "be<: the ritual nature of the pilgrimage and details its
Vietn~m W,la/fr:
emotwna e ec Dtia1bn1d_,~hr.adn:sf~~~;tive
l • ·
power fc>r motorcyclists who participate.,, the United States from California to Washington, D.C. Although many of the riders
might be mistaken for outlaw bikers, with their beards, hcadscarves, boots, and black
leather jackets, in fact, most are Vietnam veterans, and the journey they are about to
•·{Listen to the Chapter Audio on myanthrolab.com
undertake is no mere outing or biker joy ride. Rather, they are at the beginning of a
serious, and often emotional and painful endeavor, a journey with a mission, a piJ ..
.. ' , . ~.. f Fla ·staff Arizona, a motley crew of leather-clad, grimage, whose final deslination is the most powerful of American secular shrines,
They roared off the I-40 exit west o . g i. ' t1. oL1ght as my ·1)_ artner Ray and I the Vietnam Veterans Memorial--the Wall.
. . b'l th,· Barleys Here tney are, we n · , ·
long-haired 1.cers on eir ·· . . b h'nd tLiem Fxcitement washed
H d G ld Wmg motorcyc1e m e 1 1 • ' The Run first took place in 1989, when a group of Vietnam veterans decided to
scrambled to pull o_ur ... on a o,. f . . t C ld we really become part of this rough- ride their motorcycles across the country to the recently inaugurated Vietnam Veter-
over us, mingled with a largeddohse,o a!1ldx1le y.k. og~ riders with their black leather jackets, ans Memorial. Their intention was, as one of those original riders explained to me,
I. . d wondere , t ese w1 oo 111 . . . h ,
loo c111g
. lcrow d , we - , long h·1ir . an db card s.,, Aft~er call , these were real b1kers---not .
t e sortl "to say goodbye" to their fallen comrades whose names were on the Wall, and they
chams, 1ca scarves, _c , tl middle-a ,cd Honda Gold Wmg motorcyc e saw the journey as a one-time event. However, the enthusiastic welcome the group
of riders we w_ ere used to from our ~hos hy lagr1ned to spend the next ten days, received in the communities where they stopped in the course of their ride, and the
h., . th group wit w om we p ·
club. And yet t 1s was e . . . f Flagstaff to the Vietnam Veterans ceremonies and hospitality with which they were greeted, as one rider told me, made
accompanying them on a cross-country JlOL~lrn~y argoemlcn.. own as the Run for the Wall.
. 1 • w h' t D C an annua p1 gnm · . h them realize "we had to do it again." And so the Run for the Wall has taken place
Memona m as mg on, . ., . h d f th. 1· ie of bikes on the shoulder of t . e every year; and grown every year; so much that recently it has added a more southern
d As w_e parked nerv~usly at tt ef entheopar·~de:1i·11to downtown Flagstaff, little did
• • 1· police escor or ,.1. · b h route to the original Midwestern route with which the Run began.
roa , wait111g or o~ir . h d . h d F on this journey across Amenca, ot During this ten-day journey across the United States, the riders travel several
we know what awaited us 111 t e ays a ~ah ·1.or . o·de would develop emotional
1 v t m veterans wit w 10m we r · . hundred miles a day on their motorcycles. Some go "all the way" to D.C., while others
we and the most y IC na d h .. Run and we would experience a transfonnat10n travel shorter distances with the group, replaced by others who join along the route,
bonds that extended well beyon t e . f, t·on was not to be won easily, however, so that at times the group may have from 200 to 300 riders, fonning a line stretching
ld h 1· es Such a trans orma 1 .
that wou c ange our ~v . . . 1 .d was fraught not only with al1 t 1ie several miles down the highway. During the journey, the riders are greeted with cer'-
for the journey, a grucll111g ten-day motlo~cyc e n e,tai'ls but also with the emotional
l d th t ny inotorcyc e Journey enc , emonies performed by local organizations such as veterans' groups and local motor-
dangers oft . 1c 1 roa
d · a aakcmng . memones . o f a d'f·f·cult
1 1
period in our history-the h cycle organizations. They visit VFW and American legion halls, Vietnam memorials,
dangersh 111vo. ve mwreawand t h. e po . 1·itica
. 1 pro t e s·t and social disruption that were_ . t e_t· local parks and community halls. They are honored and fed and put up for the night
era of t e Vietnam . ar , re in the course of this journey, our very v1ew o at local camping grounds. Few of them pay for a single meal along the way, and camp-
consequences of that war. Whats mlod h, ere fed and lodged and greeted ing is always free.
. h' h I' ed wou e ange, as we w . 11
the country m w IC we iv
.1
.
d eremomes-an occas10na Y
d r • 11 with hostility or fear--m sma
k But many of these veterans are making another journey as well---a journey into
with srrn es, tears, an c . ·} ..
communities all across Amenca. T JC coupe al
1 th t finally returned home three wee s
h left· Flagstaff that day in early
the past and their own painful memories, to a time of personal danger and fear and
. l re not the same peop e w O · grief11 and of national dissention and conflict that split a generation---to that painful
later on their motorcyc e we
Ma of 1996. The ride turned out to e a p1 gnmage,
. b ·1 . a ritual passage that personally
. peridd of American history, the Vietnam War, a war that (as the 2004 presidential
y b h d those with whom we road. . campaign showed) remains controversial to this day. And when the group arrives at
transformed ot us an h . d off the highway and into our hves that its final destination, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, an arrival always timed for the
But who were these people w o stre~m~ . wh were they making such a
Friday of Memorial Day weekend, the memories become intensely painful, as the rid-
day? Why did they term their journe~ a p1lgnma~he·adnd de~? And why did they make
. . rs after the Vietnam War a en · ers confront the names of dead comrades--and the non-veterans the names of dead
p1lgnmage
. . so manyt yea cles, w h y wou ld th ose w ho are not veterans choose to ac- relatives and friends---and relive once more all the traumatic memories of the war.
this Journey on mo orcy . I communities along the journey's route turn out to And yet the aim of this journey is not simply to confront the past, or to evoke its
company them? And why wou d . h h " elcome home"? In order to an- pain. Rather, the participants describe the aims of their pilgrimage as twofold: as a
h t ns and to w1s t em w " · ·· d
feed and celebrate .
t e-1ve era
· necessary to a ress no on
dd t ly the issue of the still-unheale means of healing the individual wounds of the war and as a ride on behalf of all veter-
swer these quest10ns, 1 is . d . . th ature of pilgrimage, but also more ans, but especially those "left behind," the prisoners of war (POWs) and those missing
" d " f the Vietnam War an to examme e n .
woun s o . • l · A rican life in action (MIAs). Nor are these causes the concern of veterans alone. On this ritual
generally to consider the nature of ritual and its ro e m . me .
journey, veterans are accompanied by family, friends, and other supporters, and also,
since that day in 1996 when we first joined the Run, by two social scientists.
The Run for the Wall: An American Ritual
. - , . "d .. Ma as several hundred motorcycle.
The Anthropology of Pilgrimage
The Run for the Wall b~gms evheiy yCeal~/n 1:11 ·n pr;paration for their journey across
riders gather al a motel m sout ern a i orma 1
When I joined the Run for the Wall it was not the first time I had been involved with
''Copyright© 2006 by Jill Dubisch. Used by permission. a pilgrimage, however. For a number of years I had done anthropological fieldwork
at the shrine of the Madonna of the Annunciation on the Greek island of Tinos, one

i
I
 . . . 11 . tilitltl!AI.I

CHAPT.ER 30 Run for the Wall: An American Pilgrimage 279

Religion, Magic, and Worldview
278 PART IOGH'f

. ·1 .. a ·e sites and the destination of thousands of Robbie Davis-Floyd, in her book Birth as an American Rite of Passage, defines rit-
f
of that country's mos~ fa~nous pi grn~l Alth, ,h my work on 'finos was deeply in- ual as "a patterned, repetitive, and symbolic enactment of a cultural belief or value." 2
Orthodox Christian p1lg.nms every yedr. 'd oug t a.('1-.ee'J., Or.thodox Christian, and According to Davis-Floyd, the primary purpose of ritual is "transformation," and for
· · ,l I , n outs1 er no ' " this reason rituals are often performed to mark important occasions, times, or transi-
volving and often emot1onct, . v~as a . ·. lf , articipate in pilgrimage. Thus when I
from a different cuhure, and! did noht. mfys·el ·l·p I had real1y been a pilgrim myself, tions. From the perspective of those performing the rituals, there are a variety of pur-
. . 1· th, Wall it was t e irs ime . c . . • . ·t·· poses in carrying out ritual activities: to maintain order in the world, to connect with
omed the Run or e c , . h 1 well as IJrofess10nal, s1grn icance.
•l
and had taken part m a JOUr
• ·
n
ney wit a persona, as
. . · ·
up visions of sacred journeys con-- gods or ancestors, to protect, to express group or individual identity, or because the
"Pilgrimage" is a word th~t _usua yhcoMn.Jtffl~s p1'lgrirnage to Mecca, Catholic pil- rituals are mandated by the religious system of the society. Rituals can bring about
. t id relig10ns--t e us un changes, as when rites of passage such as baptism or marriage transform individuals
nected with the grea wor . .· , h , . of Hindus to the sacred waters
, Santiago or per aps a Journey . . . 1·
grimage to Lour d es or . B
.
t ·1
,
·image
. b
is y no
. . ,
me.ins
11·m1·te'd to sucb relig10us trac I- by moving them from one social status or stage of life to another. Rituals also mark
of the Ganges in In d ia. u pi gr . . " f.f Pilgrirnage can range from large-scale off ordinary life from times when special activities are pennitted or required. The
tions, and in fact it can take a vanetMy o 1·or~1s. l . to Mecca to small individual jour- carnival period preceding Lent in Catholic cultures both allows creativity and license
h . th·tt devout us nns ma <.e , . l absent in ordinary life and at the same time signals the beginning of the period of ab-
journeys sue h as t. ose ~ , bealin well or Americans to a family reunion. t can
neys such as the Insh make
be mandated and structure Y re g
J~ a li io~s traditions or religious authorities, or under-
b t' ted by spiritual needs or by the
stinence to follow, a period that itself parallels and dramatizes the sufferings of Christ
before the crucifixion and resurrection. Similarly, a pilgrimage is an activity and time
. d' 'd · l quest It can e mo iva .. set apart, and pilgrimage may take place at times of special significance, such as holy
taken as a pure ly m 1v1 ua . . . ,· . 1 roblems as illness or the inability to
desire for solut.ions to such pr~gnl,aflt1c ~bhlys1ca _Pble and multi-faceled ritual activity. days or national days of commemoration. Thus the Run for the Wall is timed so that
"ld ·c . . ·hort a high y ex1 e vana , h . . t its arrival at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial takes place on Memorial Day weekend, a
bear a c h I .. tis, ms_ , h h ·t . , t ·11 physical travel or metap one, is par
This notion of a Journey, :1 et er I is ac ut, and their widespread appeal. The period of remembering the war dead and of patriotic activities.
. .1 • es their common struc ure This brings up another important feature of rituals. As the famous scholar of
of what gives p1 gnmag . d . ·t d i'th the idea that one needs to go to a
. f l symbol an 1s connec e w f ·t• religion, Mircea Eliade pointed out, rituals often reenact the important myths of soci-
journey is a power u . . d 1 ale to the site of power u 1 even s
"different place" -to the w1lder~ess~/o a sf t~ino~rd~r to achieve transformation, to ety, showing us why they are the way they are. Thus Christian Easter rituals enact the
and away from the place of ones or mary l e s from the other world. Thus while crucifixion and resurrection, while the Jewish Passover meal, the Seder; recounts the
j e important message
touch the sacre d , or to rece v . i . d f . . rney It is not taken out of pleasure Jews' flight from Egypt. Nor need such rituals be religious in nature. The Fourth of
. · 'tis not 3us1 any t(m O JOU · h • · July in the United States, for example, commemorates the signing of the Declaration
pilgrimage is a ]ourney, I . . . . ma also include these elements). Rat er it I~ a
or simple practical necessity _(t~ough it_ . ly t th t carries the pilgrim to a place with of Independence and serves as an occasion to proclaim American values of freedom,
. . ·h ose a m1ss10n a ntua ac a . . . . Th patriotism, and community. Rituals may also seek to rewrite or reshape the past. In
Journey wit . a purp , . . · 'd h . ys be strictly rehg10us m nature. e
. wer: Nor nee sue Journe . , dz the Run for the Wall, as I will show, veterans seek, among other things, to transform
special meamng or po · , 1 at Graceland or to Groun cro
Run for the Wall and journeys to Elvis Pr~s1efy s 1ome le do not fit within established the meaning of being a Vietnam veteran from shame to pride, and to give veterans
C t in New York City, or examp , . . ai1 chance for the homecoming reception most never had when they returned from
at the World Tra d e ,en er b · f their participants as pilgrimages.
religious traditions, y~t th~y are seen i ma~y o eople for a variety of reasons. Cer- Vietnam. ("Welcome home, brother" is the ritual greeting extended to these veterans
by other veterans on the Run and by those who greet them along the way.)
Pilgrimage destmat10ns the~se vefsth~aw Pt.hat have happened there, wheth.er a
· 1 ften by virtue o mgs d' · Symbolism plays an important role in rituals. Victor Turner, an anthropolo•-
tain places are specia , o le of GeU sburg, or the appearance or act of a iv~ne
human event, such as t~~ Batt . _Y Ma at Lourdes in France. In other cases, gist who devoted much of his work to the study of ritual, saw symbols as having two
being, such as an appant10n o~ the Virtn 1 try time and the site simply known for poles: the ideological and the sensory. On the one hand, rituals engage our senses of
the origins of the pilgrima_ge hs1te may ·teh otls ihnealing, wells of Ireland. And some pil- sound, touch, sight, taste and smell (the sensory pole). On the other hand, they also
. rs as 1s t e case w1 . 1e .h t · convey important messages about social values (the ideological pole). Although con--
its miracu1ous powe , h h h . 1 powers of place as wit moun ams
. t ople throug t e p ys1ca . ' . temporary anthropologists would see these two dimensions as intertwined, with each
grimage sites attrac pe 1" ,, f Sedona Arizona. But Journeys are
. • or the red roe ( vortexes o , . . d embedded in the other (rather than as opposite poles), they would agree that it is the
in Chinese p11g_nm~ge, 'd f l'fe as a moral and spiritual journey is deeply mgr~me
1
also metaphoncal. fhe 1 ea O . : . 'd that in the 1960s a psychedelic ex- combination of the ideological and the sensory that makes rituals so powerful and
. · ]' · n (And 1t IS no COIDCl ence · " . "I) moving, for they engage more than just our intellects. For this reason, people some-
in the Chnstian re igw. · d·. . db t not in body was termed a tnp ·
.
penence, 1·n wh1'ch one Journeve in min J
u , times find themselves moved by the rituals of other groups or cultures, even when
they themselves do not share the values of those performing the ritual.
Although rituals are often perceived as being "traditional," passed on in the same
The Anthropology of Ritual form from generation to generation, the fact is that rituals are an ongoing human
. l . d whv are activity and must be re-created every time they are performed. Hence rituals are sub--
. . , . " ·t l,, but what exactly, are ntua s, an J
I have spoken of pilgrimage as a ~1 ua : . . ,? ject to both intentional and unintentional change. Moreover, new rituals are created
.
t h ey 1mpo rta1·1t?• And what sort of ntual is p1lgnmage.
2
Robbic Davis-Floyd, Birth as an American Rite of Passage (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press,
. · ,• t Press 1995). 1992), p. 8.
'll D b', h In a Di/Jerenl Place (Princeton, NJ: Pnnceton Umvers1 y
1See J 1
,,'
u 1sc ,
280 PART EIGH'f Religion, Magic, and Worldview
CHAPTER 30
Run for the Wall: An American Pilgrimage
281
, d'f' d The Run for the Wall has now become a yearly "tra-
regularly, and old ones 1:10 lie .. d.. t. tl '0urse of its J·ourney modified and added was undermined by the indifference, and sometimes outright hostility, with which a
" h · l . fvit1es carne ou m ie c ·
dition, t e ntua ac 1 . . . .. db those who host them along the way. number of homecoming veterans were received. ·
lo every year. by..bot.h ·th. e part1c
1 . ipai:tsl an y f.·· ·d·a ta fo1·. the anthropologist a.nd im-
•1 nc 1 source o Because of such a reception, many veterans were reluctant to speak of their ex-
It is clear that ntua s are< . . h" h ·h For this reason, I like Renato. periences in Vietnam or to connect or identify themselves with other veterans. They
P . d 0 the culture m w ic t ey occur. " l f
ortant wm ows ... n ,, mtersec110 , " places
. . ns where a num )er o. saw their postcombat symptoms as signs of their own craziness, and not the conse ..
Rosaldo's dcscnplwn o . ntu~ ~ ~~I· -l~~y 't , ch a "busy intersection" that we find m
. . f ·. 1 b · < · ·
distinct social processes mteract. tis JUS su f : he Wall quences of a shared experience. Although veterans who ended up in therapy groups in
the annual motorcycle pilgrirnage known as the Run or t . veterans' hospitals had some opportunity to talk about their experiences, many, if not
rnost, Vietnam veterans bore their emotional burdens alone.
Many of these returning veterans thus sought to put Vietnam behind thern and
Pilgrimage as Ritual to "get on with their lives." J twas only later that some of them, at least, began to feel
the delayed traumatic effects of their wartime experience and found their carefully
. b h , b 1 and as an actual activity--is so power- constructed postwar lives crumbling. It is from the need to address both the long-
One reason that the Journe~--as ,ot symho th pologists call a "liminal" state. term and delayed consequences of the war, both for themselves and others, that many
. . h . h . th potential to create w at an ro ". h. h
ful 1s t .at 1t. as . e t t feature oft h ose ntua . . 1s, w e call "rites of passage, m w. IC d of the participants came to be involved in the Run for the Wall.
Liminahty ls an nnpor an . . . . ., r condition to another. Victor Turner an But why motorcycles?
individuals or groups move f~om_ one.stage o t e of rite of passage. When one is on
"[ Ed. h ·1· er saw pilgnmage as one yp . db h
his w1 e, ..<, It u~n . ' . . d . , marked b the physical separation create yt e
a pilgrimage, the hmmal pe~:'10 is f. b h. yd d ti·me and space take on different Motorcycles in American Culture
· lf o d. duties are 1e t e m , an . .
journey itse •· r m~ry . 1 . d t t f consciousness that renders the p11gnm
meanings. This may mduce an a tere i"' ~ e _o y and the healing or other transfor- Motorcycles have long held an attraction for veterans, from the returning veterans of
more receptive to both the message·s· o t e JO~:e ilgrimage is over, the pilgrim often World War II (some of whom formed the first Hell's Angels club) to current veterans
mations that pilgrimage can effect. I ~us onceh eh p a11·ng of physical or psychological of the Iraq war. For many of those who ride them, motorcycles symbolize important
. d · transformat10n sue as e . .
has experience an ~nner . . 1 . w~l Transformation of social status or identity American values of freedom, self-reliance, patriotism, and individualism. Assertion
ills, atonement for sm, or sp1ntua rene h. t·c1·pate in the Run for the Wall may
1 v 't am veterans w o par .1
may also take p. hace. lie n eated 1.dentities
. . as ve t era ns (an identity they may have pre-
of these values, and particularly patriotism, is evident among at least some groups of
bikers--and certainly on the Run for the Wall--in the form of American flags, eagles,
return home wit new .y er. d h . 1 f nd that they have finally begun to and other similar emblems decorating the motorcycles, the jackets, and the tee shirts
viously played down or demed), a? t ey may a so I of the bikers.
l b · d ounds of Vietnam. d h
heal the ong-· une w f f .1 . . age and ritual are represente on t e Many bikers also see themselves as a breed apart, "rebels" against the norms and
To see how these various eatures o p1 gm~ tl t take place in the course of this restrictions of conventional society (even if only for the weekends they can "escape"
Run for the Wall, let us look at so~~ of the events ~adress two important elements of on\their motorcycles). The sense of marginality that some veterans felt on their return
ten-day journey. But before that, 1th1s nec;s;.ary t~i: pilgrimage: the Vietnam War and to civilian life, and the difficulty they may experience in adapting to that life, thus fit
American culture that come toget er to e me
motorcycle riding. with the marginality of at least some segments of motorcycle culture, especially that
of the "outlaw" bikers and similar groups. Motorcycle riding can also have important
therapeutic effects, providing a space in which veterans feel that they can "clear their
The Vietnam War heads" and find some peace from the memories and emotional traumas that continue
to haunt them.

MIA . ue carries the message that the Viet- There is a sense of solidarity and "brotherhood" that exists among bikers that is
The Run for the Wall's focus on t~t POW/( iss ge also made clear in the 2004 pres- also important in the Run for the Wall. This sense of brotherhood echoes the camara-
nam War in some sense is not rea y over a ~essa f the Iraq war to Vietnam). Despite derie of warriors in combat; indeed, participating in the Run for the Wall is for some
idential campaign and the freque1:t _compan~onsh~rt ears ago, unresolved conflicts like going into battle again-this time for the POW/MIA cause and for the healing of
the fact that the Vietnam war off1cliallf:y endhedtt· t . y ywar that the United States did fellow veterans. This is echoed in the military formation of the riders, rolling two by
. f tl ar and t ie act t a I IS a l f
over the meamng o ie w , . f th . r difficult and contentious, not on y or two in a long column down the highway, and in the element of danger present in any
not "win," have made :he memo;;:~l ~ In :~~tion, many veterans are still struggling motorcycle ride, as well as in the roar of the motorcycles themselves.
veterans but for Amencans gen ly . ·h the1·r faith in themselves-and By riding motorcycles, the participants in the Run for the Wall also set them-
· h th · own ro es 1n t e war, as
to come to terms wit eir . e When these veterans selves apart from those making a cross-country journey by ordinary means. The pa-
in the values of th~ir cu~ture---was s:~~~~ ~~ ~~:~;~;~~:;~a~ing fought and ris~ed rade of motorcycles (at points numbering several hundred bikes) riding side by side in
returned home, their belief t~at they b h tl thought they were defendmg formation down the highway presents an impressive sight, which is part of the strat-
their lives in defense of their country y t ose . iey
egy employed by the Run in its political agenda•-calling attention to the POW/MIA
icullure and Truth (New York: Beacon, J 989), p. 17. issue. At the same time, riding motorcycles represents a more conventional element
of pilgrimage---the role that hardship and suffering often play in the pilgrim's journey.
 C HAP T ER 3 0 ···. Run for the Wall: An American Pilgrimage 283
PAlt1' EIGH1' Religion, Magic, and Worldview
282
Mernorial--through the presentation of the flag that the riders will carry to D.C., tying
. . .. ·. , . h, . ortance of the journey and leads to a feeling of a~-
Such s:1ffenng emphcts1zcs_t e 11:1~ave succeeded in reaching their destinatio'.;· This the Navajo not only to the pilgrims but also to the powerful symbols of the nation's
cornphshment among those w l d . h h. . g C)f thc)se who have gone all the capital and thus to the nation itself. The cold, grueling ride that preceded these cer'--
sense of accomp . ·hmen t is
]1s · re·· flecte mt e ononn
. . • to W·asmng
.1. · to n , D .C · The .
phys1- ernonies for the Run for the Wall participants placed us all in an altered and receptive
. . . • h · ,_ · , from Cahforma . .. state that made this ceremony at Window Rock one of the most emotionally powerful
way," that. is, mct~e t e entne J~1d1~ney ·h . . t1.1e motion, the riding in format10.n
· f otorcycle n mg--t e noise, 1 events of our pilgrimage.
cal sensations o m . . h h· . . ·ds of the road--also combine to
.. l h dred other rnotorcyc1es, t e azar . . . '
with severa un . . ._ h . · l messages imparted along the JOLirneys
create a psychological recept1v1ty to t e n 1ua .. c •
route. - . .. . . d how are they imparted in the course of the
The Power of Places: Evoking the Memory and Emotion
But what are these messages, an -h' . , ·t' let us look al several of the ritual of the Past at Angel Fire, New Mexico
, man rituals? In order to answer t is ques 1011, - . ,
Runs .dyd ·ng the Run for the Wall's long cross-country .1oumey. On its fourth day out, the Run stops at the Vietnam Memorial al Angel Fire, New
stops ma e un --
Mexico, high in the mountains near Taos. Although to most people it is best known as
a ski area, to those who have participated in the Run for the Wall it will always be one
The Navajo Reservation and the Brotherhood of Warriors of the most beautiful and powerful places associated with their pilgrimage. Here, high
on a knoll and surrounded by a wind-swept alpine valley and snow-topped moun-
. . - - - h W 11 while maintaining the same basic itiner-
Since its mcept1on, the Run _for t e_ a , d· . -'ving the Friday of Memorial Day tain peaks, stands a beautiful chapel, shaped like a white wing rising against the New
ary (from California to ~as hmron ~n t~~ ;y:~~ :~metim~s eliminated the various
1
Mexico sky. Next to the chapel is a memorial and museum of the Vietnam War, with
weekend), has also regu ar1ya tere ' ah ~ , "I 1998 a new stop was added to photographs and exhibits. In the chapel itself, photographs of New Mexican men who
· th t ·punctuate t e Journey. n , died in Vietnam, looking terribly young in their military uniforms, stretches across
stops and ceremomes a . ·. f t1 Run responded to an invitation from the
the Run for the ':"all, as _the orghamz~lrls. o ie ress Navajo Vietnam Veterans Memorial the wall above a tier of seats descending to the lower part of the chapel and the simple
Navajo Reservation to nde to t e sti m prog - ,. cross that is the building's only ornament. There are often flowers or other offerings at
at window Rock on the Ru~s t~ird ~a~ ou~ red snow on its way through the moun- the base of the cross, and on each tier of seats sits a box of tissues, mute testimony to
That particular year, t e - un a en u . . . around forty degrees Fahren- the powerful emotions this stark and simple memorial evokes.
tains of Northern Arizon~ a nd temp~~~urI~~t~~~::~n%o toward Gallup (with a wind · The memorial and chapel were built by Dr. Victor Westphal who Jost his son
heit as we crossed the high ~e~ert a g . l ) As we turned off the interstate in Vietnam, and who is now himself buried on the memorial's grounds. (Until 2004,
chill close to zero for those nd_m_g on ~otorcyc es . indo~ Rock we were met by a Dr. Westphal was there to greet the Run every year, the latter years in a wheelchair.)
toward the Navajo Nation admhm1strativde centler ogftWhe narrow tw~-lane road that led The first year we were on the Run, there was a service held in the chapel for a veteran
. fN · olice w o escorte us a on d who had died the year before and who had been one of the original organizers of the
contmgent o. avaJo P s of Nava·o stood next to cars an
through the reservation. All alonlg tdh~ route, groulpe by As w~ pulled into the parking 1 Run. His wife spoke eloquently of what the Run's support had meant to her in her
· and app au mg as we roe • k ' own mourning. Her words had particular resonance with this group of Vietnam veter-
pick-up true k s, wavmg . - ation that ives the town of Window Roe
lot beneath the dramatic red roc~c forml d ndg the lot and on the rocks above. ans, many of whom still grieve for the loss of comrades in a war that was over decades
. <ls of NavaJo gat 1ere arou h ago. Then a young woman with an incredibly pure voice sang "Amazing Grace." There
its name, we saw crowd h crowd burst into enthusiastic applause. In response, t e
We rolled to a sto~ an : e . . llective roar From the podium at one end of the was not one of those wild tough bikers who had so intimidated us at the beginning of
bikers gunned their engmes m_ a ~~ k d you white men-you're surrounded our journey who was not at that point in tears.
Many veterans have spoken to us about the significance of Angel Fire in their
parking lot, a Navajo leader ~akid, v oo arolun o11r,horses" His comment acknowl-__
. W '11 t k r b1 es iou can iave - · · f own spiritual and psychic journey toward healing. For those who felt they had gotten
by Indians. e a e you · • from the mostly Anglo group 0
e differences that separated the NavaJo h . that ' past the traumas of Vietnam and moved on with their lives, for those who had come
e d ge <lb o th th . d th 111 In t e cerernomes
bikers and the shared military ~st;y tha~ con.~e~t=tion ~la~ to carry to the Wall, a on the R.un thinking they were "just going for a ride" with fellow biker vets, Angel
followed, Navajo leaders gave t e - u~ a a~aJ_ memory of a brother who died in Fire awakened memories and reopened wounds that had never completely healed. At
Navajo folk singer performed a son? e wro h\mbalancing precariously on the rocks this point, many began to realize they had much left from lhe past that they had not
Vietnam, Navajo children took our ~1ctures w i e livin World War lI "code talkers" confronted, that had continued to affect their lives and the lives of those around them.
above, and there was a demo°:strat10n by t~~ last era~ion that used the Navajo lan- For these individuals, Angel Fire was not simply a stop on their pilgrimage; rather, it
(Navajo who had participated m a secl~ethmd1~itary o<lparound the mystical formation of was the beginning of their real pilgrimage.
h as the desert 1g t 1111me " ,, Part of the power of Angel Fire lies in its setting--the remoteness, the beauty,
guage as a co d e ) • T- en, _ . . _ te-d while a bugler played Taps.
, . k N · d non-NavaJo warriors sa1u . ) the steep, winding and somewhat hazardous mountain roads that rnust be traversed
Wmdow Roe , avaJO an . - ition (Anglo/Native American
At Window Rock what m1ght_be seen as an o_ ppos d f . . . 'I'h- horse and to get there. This creates a receptivity to the emotions of the past that are evoked by
l
i f th b otherhoo o warriors.
is transformed into a commo1: c~ ture 1 e ; d warrior is memorialized (remind-
the motorcycle are both warriors sym o s,.;. ea - - de by Navajo and non-Navajo),
e
the memorial. Nor is it only those on the Run who journey here for pilgrimage. Cer-·
emonies are held here on other days as well: on Veterans' Day and on Father's Day, in
ing all those present of thet con:idmon sa~r: Jct;~e n;~ers' destir{ation-•the Victnarri honor of the men killed in Vietnarn whose children never had a chance to know them.
Navajo are connected to t11e n ers an o
 ,11f
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284 p AR T E I G H T . , Religion, Magic, and Worldview
And in between such events, more solitary pilgrimages arc made by those drawn by
the power of the sile.
Limon, Colorado: Remembering the Missing and the Dead
Limon, Colorado is the Run's stop on its fifth night. It is a long day, riding from
Cimarron, New Mexico, the previous night's stop, making several ceremonial stops
along the way (including, one year, at the Colorado Vietnam memorial in _Pueblo),
ending up al this small Lown in eastern Colorado on the edge of the_Great Plams. After
checking into motels or the local KOA campground (wh_ere campmg, as eve?where
on the Run's journey, is free), many riders mount up agm1_1 for the half hour nde east
to the town of Hugo, where they will be served a wonderful feast prepared by the lo-
cal women. Afterwards, everyone regroups at the KOA for the evening's ceremony,
conducted by members of Task Force Omega, a group of fa~ili~s o~ PO~s and MIAs.
Here every year; as dusk falls, the names of the Colorado M1ssrng m Action arc read
in a candlelight ritual that varies from year to year. On the 1999 Run, a "V" of cande-
labra was set up in a space near the tents, and we formed into couples, each couple
assigned a month and given a list of names of those who had gone missing in Vi~tnam
in that month. As each month was called, the woman read the names on her list. As
each name was read in the gathering darkness, the man called out, "Still on patrol,
sir!" Afterwards we all joined hands in a "healing circle."
The Run for the Wall's journey is punctuated with rituals such as these, rituals
created by Run for the Wall participants and by the individuals and groups that host
them along the way. Most of these rituals, in one way or ai:iother,_ c?mme1:1~rate the
missing and the dead of the Vietnam War. In the ritual at Limon, 1t 1s specifically t~e
missing who are memorialized, providing a ritual for those wh~ have been left m
limbo---both the missing themselves and those they have left behmd, who have had
no space provided for mourning those they have lost. The audience participation
in the ritual joins all of us with those who are missing, and with those w~o mou~n.
The light of candles, the growing darkness, the open s~aces of the loommg plams
ahead and the mountains behind us create a powerful ntual atmosphere, as do the
voices of the dead responding to the calling of their names. They are still here, they
remind us, still connected, and we should not forget. ("Missing but not forgotten,"
we responded in unison another year, as the names of the missing were read at this
same ceremony.)
At the Wall: Confronting the Sacred Space
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, with its two black granite wings engraved with the
names of the over 58,000 American soldiers who died in Vietnam, is a particularly
powerful symbol in that it memorializes both the individual_and the collectiv~ ~ead ..
For many veterans, it is the Wall, and not individual grave sites, where the sp1nts of
their dead comrades reside. And for many veterans, it is such an emotional and pow-
erful place that they can scarcely bear to think about it, let alone visi~. On_ my first
journey with the Run, one veteran, also riding with t?eg:oup for ~he first time, told
me how terrified he was as we drew closer to our destmat10n. He did manage to com-
plete the journey, but, like many others, he was overcome with grief once he r~ac?ed
the memorial. For many, it is only because they have the support of the other p1lgnms
CHAPTER 30 Run for the Wall: An American Pilgrimage 285
on this journey that they are able to make this pilgrimage and to confront its destina•
tion at the end.
There are no collective rituals at the Wall. Each of the pilgrims from the Run
~arries out his (or her) own symbolic acts, whether that be leaving important ob-
Jects (wreaths, military objects, photographs, letters, and flowers), making rubbings
oi names, praying, or simply sitting in sorrow and contemplating the many names
carved on the black granite surface. Although individual in their expression of grief
and remembrance, these are rituals that would be recognized by pilgrims everywhere.
Indeed, it is such acLivities---both the acts themselves and the many physical markers
they leave behind--that often mark powerful and popular pilgrimage sites.
For many who are involved with the Run, the Wall has almost mystical powers.
People speak of "Wall magic," the force that draws people to the Wall and to each
other for healing. To touch a name on the Wall, I was told, is to call forth the soul of'
the person who died. And some veterans who keep vigil at the Wall the night after the
Run arrives (the "Night Patrol") report hearing a cacophony of voices coming from
the black granite surface, as if all the dead were trying to speak to them at once. Thus
the Wall serves as a place of connection between worlds, between the living and the
dead, as weH as a place for remembering and for healing.
The Return
There are no special rituals marking the homeward journey of the Run for the Wall
participants. Riders return home singly or with groups of friends, make a quick and
direct journey or stop to visit friends and family, as they wish. But they return as dif-
ferent people, for the Run for the Wall, like many pilgrimages, is, among other things,
a rite of passage and a ritual of transformation. Some have found at least a measure
of peace and healing through their journey, through the support of other veterans
and of those who host them along the way, and through their confrontation with the
Wall and all that it represents. Others have "come out of the woods," out of the shame
and guilt and sense of isolation that being a veteran has entailed, and have begun to
acknowledge, and even to be proud of, their status as veterans. All have been given
an opportunity--and space and support--to mourn the dead for whom the veteran's
grief is often still intense and surprisingly fresh. And in a sense, many have been given
the opportunity to ritually reenact the Vietnam War by riding for a cause (the POW/
MIA issue) with fellow veterans, on an intense, difficult, and sometimes dangerous
mission, arriving--this time in triumph-in the nation's capitol. Here, instead of the
indifference and even hostility that met them when they returned from Vietnam, they
are greeted with warmth and enthusiasm. Thus through ritual, they, in some sense,
at least, "rewrite" their own history, as well as that of the war, and become heroes, at
last, in what is for many "the parade they never had."
Conclusion: The Journey That Has No End
Pilgrimage, an ancient ritual, continues to flourish today in a range of forms. To un-
derstand its continuing popularity, we must also look to the many reasons why people
undertake such ritual journeys. One of the answers to this may lie in the creative po-
tential of pilgrimage itself, fm~ as the Run for the Wall illustrates, it is a ritual readily
adapted to a variety of situations and to a range of human needs. Indeed, pilgrimage
286 PART FjIGHT Religion, Magic, and Worldview

may be a perfect ritual for a contemporary global world, as it both lends itself to our
individual purposes and desires and connects us to the larger world.
Like most rituals, the Run for the Wall, also offers itself to many meanings
and interpretations. That two individuals who opposed the Vietnam War, and who
find some of the kinds of patriotic sentiments celebrated on the Run distasteful, can
nonetheless find their participation in the Run for the Wall one of the most moving
and powerful experiences of their lives, is testimony to this. It became clearer to me
through my own participation the ways in which a pilgrimage, like other rituals, can
be many, even contradictory, things at once: a political movement and a personal jour-
ney of healing, a celebration of the warrior and a memorial to the tragedy of war, an
experience of liminality by the marginal and a mode of integration and the overcom-
ing of marginality, a journey away and a coming home.
As I write this article, the United States is once again engaged in foreign wars,
in Iraq and in Afghanistan, and these wars are increasingly reflected in the Run for
the Wall and its rituals. (Even prior to these wars, the Run had already attracted some
Gulf War veterans, and had begun to broaden its mission to include the veterans,
and the missing and the dead, of all American wars.) In 2003, Lori Piestewa, the first
Native American woman to die in combat, was memorialized at Run for the Wall
ceremonies in Gallup, New Mexico. In the 2004 Run, we were joined by both return-
ing Iraq veterans and those about to be deployed, and prayers were offered daily for
the safety of all those serving. Remembering their own treatment when they returned
from war, several veterans reminded participants to be sure that today's returning vet-
erans were better received and cared for. As the Vietnam veterans on the Run can tes-
tify, the wounds of war are deep and long lasting. For these reasons, then, the Run for
the Wall is a ritual journey whose end is nowhere in sight.