The annual Run for the Wall continues their journey to Washington DC by passing through Meridian

MERIDIAN, Miss. (WTOK) -The annual Run for the Wall happens around mid-May every year.

These are a group of people who have come together to ride for those who can’t. They have one mission and four routes, as the run starts in Ontario, California, and ends in Washington, DC.

“My purpose for running for the wall in the beginning, I started in 2019 right here in Meridian. I was an F-N-G, so I started here. Once I got here and saw the comradely, what the mission was and what it stands for, it touched me. It was emotional, so I decided it was something I wanted to do from now on after the initial year in 2019, I talked to my wife and told her about the people I met on the run, and I talked to a couple of other friends out of Chattanooga Tennessee, and another friend out of Georgia and so far since 2019 I’ve got five people to join me, which I call my group now with the run for the wall, but this year I’m riding in honor of a friend I met seven years ago that died over in Iraq so that is why I ride in the run for the wall,” says Johnnie Ruddleston, Assistant Platoon leader, 3rd Platoon.

Everyone out here is riding for a purpose, as one individual says their reasons will have them riding for the rest of their lives.

“I grew up an Air Force brat; I was 12 when my dad retired; my dad was a veteran of Korea and Vietnam; my dad is no longer with us, so this is for him,” says Michael Cooper, F-N-G of Run for the Wall.

As they make their way down the interstate, they will arrive in Washington, DC, on the Friday of Memorial weekend.

To learn more about Run for the Wall, you can visit their website: https://rftw.us.

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