Rolling Thunder XXXVIII – 6th Annual Mid-America Demonstration Parade Ride – 2026
North Chicago — Members of Illinois Rolling Thunder chapters invite all area motorcyclists to join them in the 38th annual nationwide Ride for Freedom starting at James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center on Sunday, May 24, 2026. No Entry Fee.
The purpose of the ride is to remind our government to keep searching for our 80,000+ missing service men and women.
Riders will stage from 8:30 to 10 a.m. May 24, 2026
at the James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center, 3001 Green Bay Road, North Chicago. Program starts at 10:00 A.M. It’s K.S.U. promptly at 11 A.M. for the 54 mile, rain-or-shine ride, which will take participants past Hines VA Medical Center and on to Cantigny Park in Wheaton. Food, vendors, RT XXXVIII pins and patches, POW/MIA Remembrance Table Ceremony and U.S. Army 1st Infantry Division Museum Tours at Cantigny Park, 1S151 Winfield Road, Wheaton, IL 60189.
Wayne Kirkpatrick, a retired U.S. Army colonel who lives in Algonquin, said that while the location of the ride has changed, its focus remains the same. The ride, which for decades drew hundreds of thousands of motorcyclists from across the country to Washington, D.C., on Memorial Day weekend, is a reminder to all that the search is not over for nearly 81,000 service men and women still listed as Missing In Action.
“We want to keep our POWs and MIAs top of mind,” Kirkpatrick said. “From all wars, more than 82,000 U.S. service members are still missing. We have to be vigilant in ensuring that government funding continues to be set aside for the recovery, repatriation and proper burial of these patriots. We owe them that. We owe it to their families.”