Run for the Wall: An American Pilgrimage Notes

Pilgrimages

  • Involve structured travel that removes people from daily lives, evoking emotions.

  • Structured around repetitive acts symbolizing past events and meanings.

  • Involve separation, a liminal period, and reincorporation.

  • Can occur in secular contexts.

Run for the Wall

  • Motorcycle pilgrimage from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C.

  • Commemorates soldiers lost during the Vietnam War.

  • Started by Vietnam veterans, includes other riders.

  • Stops in towns for commemorations.

  • Ends at the Vietnam War Memorial ("the wall").

  • Participants engage in "rolling thunder" to honor soldiers.

Ritual Nature

  • The Run is a serious endeavor, not a joy ride, with a mission to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

  • The Run started in 1989 by Vietnam veterans to "say goodbye" to fallen comrades.

  • The riders travel hundreds of miles a day, greeted with ceremonies by local organizations.

  • Many veterans make a journey into their painful memories of the Vietnam War.

  • The aims are to heal individual wounds and support POWs/MIAs.

  • Participants include veterans, family, friends, and social scientists.

Anthropology of Pilgrimage

  • Pilgrimages are not limited to religious traditions; they are flexible and multi-faceted.

  • Journeys are powerful symbols of transformation, away from ordinary life.

  • Pilgrimages have a purpose, a mission to a place with special meaning.

  • Destinations draw people for various reasons: human events, divine acts, miraculous powers, or physical attributes.

Anthropology of Ritual

  • Ritual defined as a patterned, repetitive, symbolic enactment of cultural belief or value.

  • Primary purpose is transformation, marking important occasions or transitions.

  • Rituals maintain order, connect with gods/ancestors, protect, express identity, or are mandated by religion.

  • Mark off ordinary life from special activities.

  • Rituals often reenact important myths.

  • Symbolism has ideological and sensory poles.

  • Rituals are ongoing, subject to change, and new ones are created.

  • Rituals are "busy intersections" where social processes interact.

Pilgrimage as Ritual

  • Pilgrimages create a liminal state, separating individuals from ordinary life.

  • This induces an altered state of consciousness, making pilgrims receptive to messages and transformations.

  • Pilgrims experience inner transformation, such as healing or spiritual renewal.

  • Transformation of social status or identity may occur.

The Vietnam War

  • The focus on POW/MIA indicates the war is not truly over.

  • Unresolved conflicts and the lack of a clear "win" have made memories difficult.

  • Veterans struggle with their roles and shaken faith.

  • Many veterans faced indifference or hostility upon returning home.

  • Veterans sought to put Vietnam behind them, but experienced delayed traumatic effects.

Motorcycles in American Culture

  • Symbolize freedom, self-reliance, patriotism, and individualism.

  • Represent a sense of marginality and rebellion against norms.

  • Provide a space for veterans to "clear their heads" and find peace.

  • Foster solidarity and "brotherhood."

  • Military formation of riders echoes camaraderie of warriors.

  • Emphasize hardship, suffering, and accomplishment.

Ritual Stops

  • Navajo Reservation: Transforms opposition (Anglo/Native American) into a brotherhood of warriors.

  • Angel Fire, New Mexico: Evokes memory and emotion of the past, awakening memories and reopening wounds.

  • Limon, Colorado: Remembers the missing and the dead, providing a ritual for those left in limbo.

  • The Wall: Confronting the sacred space, individuals perform symbolic acts of grief and remembrance.

The Wall

  • The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a powerful symbol that memorializes both individual and collective dead.

  • Many veterans feel as though the Wall, not individual gravesites, is where the spirits of their dead comrades reside.

The Return

  • Pilgrims return home transformed, having found peace, healing, and a sense of pride.

  • They have the opportunity to mourn the dead and rewrite their history.

  • They become heroes in "the parade they never had."

Conclusion

  • Pilgrimage adapts to various situations and needs, connecting individuals to the larger world.

  • The Run for the Wall is a political movement, a personal journey of healing, a celebration of the warrior, and a memorial to the tragedy of war.

  • The Run for the Wall is a ritual journey that recognizes ongoing wars and the lasting wounds of war, with no end in sight.