One Vietnam veteran is trying to bring peace to the families who lost loved ones in the Vietnam War.
As the founder of the Ride of the Brotherhood, Ed Lewis leads expeditions to Vietnam in search for the remains of MIA soldiers on both sides of the war. With his brotherhood of fellow vets, he searches the known locations of these missing soldiers, testing the soil for trace of human remains. He says there can be as many as 1,200 soldiers missing in action, but sadly only 600 have the potential to be recovered as many died in explosions and over water.
Ed and members of New Orleans–based nonprofit ride around the country on their motorcycles, raising awareness about their efforts to recover their lost brothers who never returned home. Part of the donations and funds the organization receives goes toward financing trips to Vietnam and the digs they organize there with the help of members of the leaders of Vietnamese villages. Trips happen every two years, and Ed has just wrapped up his fourth trip.
He says that it can be difficult to convince people to donate money to a cause with the potential for such a small return. So far, they have yet to find soil samples with traces of human remains in them.
But he says that the efforts are worth it if it means bringing peace of mind to the families and friends of lost soldiers.
Ed's Harley-Davidson is customized with a spectacular paint job: on it, there are images of soldiers in combat situations as well as all the names of the Louisiana soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War, whose names also appear on the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C.
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