LANSING, Mich. — Many people around the country hit the road for a Memorial Day weekend getaway, but one veteran's motorcycle road trip isn't just for fun. It's to honor those in our military who can no longer ride.
At a rest stop along I-96, Fox 47's Carla Bayron met Kent Helland. He calls Las Vegas home.
"I've put about 4,000 miles in my bike since I left home."
Two weeks ago, he and nine other veterans rode from there to California where they took part in the annual Run for the Wall, a motorcycle ride to raise awareness for POW/MIAs and support the current and former military.
"We took what's called the central route which took us basically across I-70, across the United States. We had over 450 motorcycles in our group and altogether we had about 1600 riders riding three routes," Helland said.
The riders traveled to Washington D.C. this weekend and Helland's final stop was at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
"I was able to visit several of my friends who were buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Some of them were lost in Somalia and Afghanistan and Iraq."
Helland joined the Army in 1975 and doing the Run was always on his bucket list.
"I have a lot of friends who were in Vietnam, including my father and I decided to do the ride to be a part of it," he said. "Many of you may have never known someone who served or who was killed in the military, but those of us who do, do remember them. We're riding for those who cannot ride."
Helland's next stop is MSU's campus to take a pic with Sparty. He graduated from the university in 1984. Then he'll visit some family in Michigan before going back home to Las Vegas.
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