Rolling Thunder won't let a fire stop its longtime mission

Their booth is in ruins, but vets' mission intact
Friday, November 26, 2010
BY BRETT ZONGKER
THE RECORD
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Rolling Thunder won't let a fire stop its longtime mission of educating visitors to the nation's capital about soldiers still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War.

An accidental blaze this week, likely caused by a leak in a propane heater, destroyed a kiosk that has sold mementos for nearly 20 years, but that, more important, gave Vietnam veterans who manned the booth around the clock a chance to talk to people about their brothers still considered missing.

"You wouldn't believe the people that come up to you and ask, 'What does POW-MIA mean?' " said Walt Sides, a founder of Rolling Thunder and a Marine Corps veteran from Leesburg, Va. "That's why we're there — to get the word out."

He said the group plans to rebuild with an identical booth that also used to stand at the site near the Vietnam Memorial.

All that was left after the fire was the shell of the kiosk and charred debris, including POW bracelets and a flagpole with the tattered remains of an American flag.
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Their booth is in ruins, but vets mission intact