Honoring the fallen Fallen Warriors Bike Run remembers those who lived behind the shield

Posted by Navajo Times | May 10, 2018 | News |

By Nathan J. Tohtsoni
Special to the Times

Navajo Times | Donovan Quintero
More than 100 motorcyclists took part in the third annual Navajo Nation Fallen Warriors Bike Run.

THOREAU, N.M.

At the head of more than 100 motorcycles motoring across the Navajo Nation, Ervin Redhouse, of Tsaile, Arizona, had spent hours welding a metal police shield on the front-end of his motorcycle in honor of his late brother, Samuel Redhouse, for the third annual Navajo Nation Fallen Warriors Bike Run.

Navajo Times | Donovan Quintero
Maggie Charley, the mother of fallen Navajo Nation Police Officer Houston Largo, who died of gunshot wounds on March 12, 2017, stands by his photos on Sunday during the 3rd annual Navajo Nation Fallen Warriors Bike Run that concluded in Thoreau.

Unseen to the droves of people and vehicles who pulled to the roadside and waved, saluted or gave a thumbs up, Redhouse’s eyes were teared under his helmet as he remembered a brother taken too young. He was ambushed by sniper fire in the line of duty as a Navajo Nation Police officer on Feb. 17, 1997.

“He was on his day off. It was a Monday,” Redhouse said. “There was a report of a man with a weapon when he was called out and he did his duty. Even though it’s been 21 years, sometimes it seems like yesterday. He and I were so close. The emotions come in waves and sometimes you don’t accept it.”

Forgotten. Remembered. Honored. Those words echoed throughout the day when motorcycles departed from the Shiprock Chapter House on Sunday, stopped at a convenience store in Tohatchi and the Eastern Agency Judicial Complex in Crownpoint before ending at the Thoreau Chapter House. Along the 150-mile route, the number of riders grew.