Lacey Group's Mission: Find All 91K Missing Veterans, POWs

Charlie Webster asks people to undergo an exercise in imagination to understand his cause. Picture yourself at MetLife Stadium for a Jets or Giants game. Every seat is filled. The halls are packed. The offices and luxury boxes are occupied. You walk to the highest point and see the parking lot filled with tailgaters, state troopers, security and ticket scalpers.

The total number of people still might fall short of the 91,000 veterans who have gone missing in action or were prisoners of war who never returned home since World War I. Rolling Thunder NJ-2, located in Forked River, is dedicated to holding the federal government accountable in finding answers for those soldiers' families.

"That’s how many people are missing from dinner tables and from somebody’s side of the bed and from chairs all over the country, and that is inexcusable," said Webster, the chapter president. "Our country has forgotten them on the promise that they would never forget."

Rolling Thunder is an organization with chapters around the country. Their biggest event is an annual D.C. rally. Members on motorcycles pack the Pentagon parking lot and streets around the National Mall and make as much noise as possible on Memorial Day weekend. Some rallies have featured more than one million riders.

Locally, Rolling Thunder has set up public reminders of missing veterans. The Lakeside Diner in Forked River set up a small table in November, representing the soldiers missing from their dinner tables. There's an empty chair for the cause in Lacey's municipal building. The Somerset Patriots baseball team has an empty chair, and the Trenton Thunder will get one in April, Webster said.

"I know people who have waited since World War II, wondering where their husband or brother is," Webster said. "I’ve talked to people whose best friends are still missing from Vietnam. ... It’s bad enough to bury your kids, but what if you’re a parent who can’t bury their kid?"

You don't have to ride motorcycles or be a veteran to join Rolling Thunder NJ-2. You just need to care about veterans and the organization's mission, Webster said. Rolling Thunder NJ-2 also helps veterans in need through actions such as financial assistance and funding scholarships for their children.

Rolling Thunder NJ-2 is also active with 22 Too Many, which represents the approximate number of current and former military members who die by suicide daily, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Each month, Rolling Thunder NJ-2 updates members on the number of veterans missing from each war. But sometimes there's cause for celebration, when the federal government announces soldiers they've recovered, Webster said.

Rolling Thunder will hold their final D.C. rally in May because of cost concerns, according to the Military Times. The national organization ran the event for over 30 years. But that doesn't mean Rolling Thunder will relent on its mission.

"It’s local. It’s visible. It’s loud," Webster said. It’s called Rolling Thunder because we are rolling thunder."

To find out more about Rolling Thunder NJ-2, visit their website or Facebook page.

Above photo provided by Rolling Thunder NJ-2