A motor convoy comprised of over 60 Historic Military Vehicles (HMVs) will travel through Wake Forest in the late afternoon of Sunday, Sept. 20. The procession will enter the town limits via Youngsville Boulevard which turns into North Main Street and exit Wake Forest via Durham Road/NC 98 West.
Conducted by the Military Vehicle Preservation Association (MVPA), the HMV convoy will commemorate the 95th anniversary of a cross-country U.S. Army operation along the Bankhead Highway.
In 1920 the U.S. Army executed a cross-country military vehicle convoy on the newly-formed Bankhead Highway. Commanded by Col. John F. Franklin, the motor convoy was designed to help Army officials further their understanding of the practicality of motorized transport and its place in the U.S. Army. The route began in Washington, DC, at the White House and ended approximately 3,300 miles and 116 days later at San Diego, CA’s Balboa Park.
MVPA officials say the 95th Anniversary Convoy will include as many as 65 HMVs that will retrace the original 1920 Transcontinental Motor Convoy route along the Bankhead Highway. The MVPA’s 2015 Bankhead Convoy (“BH-15”) that will roll through Wake Forest on Sept. 20 will launch from Washington, DC, on Saturday, Sept. 19, and arrive in San Diego, CA, 29 days later on Saturday, Oct. 17.
Convoy HMVs will range from WWI-era vehicles to those recently released from U.S. Armed Forces inventories. The MVPA’s privately-owned HMVs include motorcycles, jeeps and large cargo trucks.
The latest in a series of large-scale processions coordinated by the MVPA, the 3,300 mile/29-day convoy represents America’s longest veterans’ parade, honoring the service and sacrifice of veterans of all generations. The convoys are also designed to represent the ground forces legacy of the United States while at the same time showcasing the nation’s assortment of HMVs.
Each day’s plans have been carefully mapped out to include locations for rest stops, dining and lodging. To follow the MPVA convoy online, visit www.facebook.com/MVPAConvoy.
For more information, visit www.mvpa.org or email Dan McCluskey at mccluske@sbcglobal.net.
