In the fall of 1987, Vietnam veterans Artie Muller and Ray Manzo met to discuss their concerns about the members of the American military who were prisoners of war or missing in action (POW/MIA). Having honorably served their country and taken an oath to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies" and to "bear true faith and allegiance to the same," the men were troubled by the lack of attention given to those who did not make it out of the Vietnam War with their lives or their freedom.
Mr.
Muller and Mr. Manzo began planning a gathering in Washington, D.C., during the 1988 Memorial Day weekend. They contacted their families, fellow veterans and veteran's advocates to form a march and demonstrate at the nation’s capital. Their arrival was announced by the roar of their motorcycles, a sound not unlike the 1965 bombing campaign against North Vietnam dubbed Operation Rolling Thunder. Hence, they called themselves "Rolling Thunder." Approximately 2,500 motorcycles from all over the country participated in the first demonstration, and the event continued on each subsequent Memorial Day weekend with an estimated 900,000 participants this year.
“While Rolling Thunder is an national organization, all of the proceeds from this year’s partnership event with Mellow Mushroom will go to the Chattanooga Area Chapter, of which our business manager, Mark Gratton, is a board member,” said Jason Jones, owner of the Chattanooga Mellow Mushroom franchises. “Their efforts vary from quarterly dinners for several hundred disabled vets, to Christmas and Thanksgiving events, to home repairs and assistance with vets managing their disability paperwork. Mellow is proud to do anything we can to give back to those who have served our nation so selflessly.”
On Veteran’s Day, the Mellow Mushroom restaurants at 205 Broad St. and 2318 Lifestyle Way will host give-back events with 10 percent of the day’s sales donated to Rolling Thunder. This is the third give-back day the restaurants have hosted for the nonprofit in as many years.
All sales on Nov. 11 from 11 a.m.-midnight will count toward Mellow Mushroom’s contribution to Rolling Thunder, including dine-in and carryout orders as well as bar sales.