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John Pelachio poses briefly prior to the DVD release party held at Circle D Restaurant in Cave Creek last weekend to kick off this year’s annual Run to The Wall.
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Run for The Wall kickoff party held in Cave Creek
by Brian DiTullio

CAVE CREEK – Circle D Restaurant on Saturday served as one of the official kickoff points for this year’s Run for The Wall.

For the 18th year, on Memorial Day thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts will converge on Washington D.C. to honor those who gave their lives during the Vietnam War. A kickoff and DVD release party at Circle D helped get the national event rolling.

The official start of the run is today in Ontario, Calif., passing through the Valley this afternoon.

Rick Avolio, director of photography for International Pictures FX, was at the restaurant debuting the documentary he filmed about last year’s run to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. He described the sense of community that springs up around the run and the warm reception riders receive as they travel across the United States.

“As we go along,” said Avolio, “we acquire more bikes.”

By the time the run arrives in D.C. on Memorial Day, Avolio expects there to be about 750,000 motorcycles covering 18 miles of road in a five‑hour parade route.

Avolio, who has photographed everything from the Superbowl to Playboy models, says there is no experience quite like the Run for The Wall. “I never felt the way I do shooting this,” he said.

Avolio related that all the fuel for bikers participating in the run is donated, mainly by Travel Centers of America and Chevron/Texaco, although there are some private contributors as well.

The run is officially sponsored by Hacienda Harley‑Davidson in Scottsdale; Law Tigers, a network of motorcycle personal injury lawyers; and Southwest Airlines.

“If it wasn’t for them, we couldn’t do this,” Avolio said.

Sitting with Avolio, John Pelachio recounted his own experiences in Vietnam and proudly spoke about his involvement with Operation Freedom Bird, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping Vietnam veterans overcome physical and emotional scars from the war.

Pelachio said every Veteran’s Day 50 Vietnam vets are sent to The Wall at no cost to them as part of a four‑day therapeutic event.

Vietnam veterans weren’t the only participants at the Circle D kickoff party.

Jospeh Johnson, a World War II vet, said he planned on participating in the run as much as his health allows.

Johnson joined the Army at 14 in 1941 and fought in the Phillipines, narrowly avoiding the Bataan Death March. He was captured a few weeks later, however, and remained a prisoner of the Japanese until the war ended in 1945.

Dubbed the “Baby of Bataan” by his hometown newspaper in Memphis, Tenn., Johnson recently published his biography detailing his time as a POW under the same name, “Baby of Bataan.”

Circle D owner Dean Correnti related that he was proud to host the event and noted he was approached about having the party right after his restaurant opened in February.

“We gladly accepted,” said Correnti, adding he hopes it becomes an annual event.

“You can tell we get a lot of community support,” he said, pointing to the large crowd gathering. “This is a way of giving back to the community.”

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