Throughout all wars, thousands of United States soldiers left for the call of duty never to return home. Saturday in Grand Island hundreds of motorcycles rode in their name.

     It's the National Veterans Awareness Ride. Riders started in California and will ride all the way to Washington D.C. They hope to raise awareness for those missing in action. 

     With flags flying proudly behind them, 200 motorcycles rolled in to Grand Island. It's a quick stop before continuing on their mission to Washington. "I had no idea what the ride was about in 2006 when I joined. I just wanted to go for a ride," said rider Milo Anderson.
  
     It didn't take him long to realize just how important revving up the engine of his 'rat bike' could be. "What an impact it is visiting veterans and seeing the tears of job on their face. That people are actually paying attention to them. Some veterans are shut in. They don't get any company at all."
 
     This ride was all about veterans awareness. The primary focus was on those who never returned from fighting for the red, white and blue. "To advocate and promote. Bring awareness to veterans missing in action and prisoners of war. Bring attention to Congress. That's why we go to Washington,"explained state coordinator Bill Luft.
 
     For many, the terms missing in action or prisoner of war correlate with the most recent war. But, of the 118,000 soldiers still missing, only twelve are from current conflicts according to the POW Network.

     "There's always going to be MIA and POWs. As long as we bring awareness to that and try to let Washington realize they need to do something about it. They need to put more funding into it and more research to finding people and getting them back home again," said Anderson.
 
     This is the fifth year for the ride, but it won't be the last. "It's not over til the last one has come home," said Anderson.

     From Grand Island the ride will continue to Washington D.C. There riders will try get support from Congress to add more funding to help these veterans.

Reporter's Notes by Laurie Dutcher:

This is a 10-day ride from Sacramento, CA to Washington D.C.

Riders will arrive in D.C. in time for the Memorial Day Rolling Thunder Parade.

These riders were part of the Northern Line of the ride.