New Mexico American Legion Riders have teamed with the VA for 12 years on a ride that brings awareness to veteran suicides.
Veteran suicide is personal for Jesus “Zap” Zapata, the Department of New Mexico American Legion Riders State Road Captain. That, and his own personal trauma, are why the member of American Legion Post 10 and ALR Chapter 10 in Albuquerque has been a part of the Be the One New Mexico S.A.V.E. Run motorcycle ride since its inception 12 years ago.
Two fellow veterans that Zapata refers to as “brothers” died by suicide. “To this day I haven’t forgot about it,” he said.
Zapata recently headed up the 2025 Be the One S.A.V.E. ride that took place Sept. 6-7 and attracted more than 60 participants from ALR chapters across the state and other motorcyclists. The ride is a collaboration with the VA New Mexico Healthcare System and is geared toward raising awareness about VA’s S.A.V.E. suicide prevention and, now, The American Legion’s Be the One mission.
This year’s ride kicked off at the Raymond G. Murphy Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center and covered 189 miles, finishing up at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Angel Fire. Along the way were stops, including at American Legion Post 17 in Española, where a letter from VA’s S.A.V.E. acronym was explained.
· S – Spot the signs a veteran might be thinking about suicide
· A – Ask the critical question — “Are you thinking of killing yourself?”
· V – Validate the veteran’s experience
· E – Encourage and support next steps with the veteran
The mission of Be the One also was shared throughout the ride.
Zapata said the inaugural suicide prevention ride was a result of Christina Camacho with the VA New Mexico Healthcare System (VANMHCS) reaching out to Ricardo "Rick" Pete Vallejos, a former New Mexico state road captain about staging such a ride. Vallejos then called Zapata, who has been involved ever since.
“For me, this ride is important because I’m an American Legion Rider and a veteran,” Zapata said. “It’s just to make people aware about (veteran suicide).”
In addition to Camacho and Vallejos, Zapata noted the other individuals who were instrumental in getting the first ride off the ground: VANMHCS’s Veronica Olson and Linda Romero; Aaron Dean of Operation Wounded Warrior New Mexico; and New Mexico Legion Riders Past State Director Michael Summers and current State Director Ken Nadeau.
With the ride being open to any motorcyclists, Zapata said it’s been an opportunity to bring new members into the Legion Family. “Each year we get as least four or five riders that are not in The American Legion that join us,” he said. “A lot of them are veterans that jump into the ride, and they become Legion Riders after that.”
In addition to losing friends to suicide, another traumatic experience has made Zapata passionate about the Be the One mission.
“Four years ago on Sept. 9, my brother was murdered in Albuquerque. On Sept. 10, I found out. On Sept. 11, I did the suicide prevention ride,” he said. “It’s pretty important to me to learn to Be the One to ask, to Be the One to get somebody some help, to Be the One to save somebody, and to Be the One to ask for help. I had to ask for help after that.”
- Riders