Guam lawmakers honor veteran Ronald Cruz Kanata at retirement ceremony

The Committee on Rules of I Liheslaturan Guåhan presented a resolution at the Guam Congress Building recognizing Ronald “Ron” Cruz Kanata on his retirement from the Guam Office of Veterans Affairs.

The resolution cites Kanata’s long career in civil service and the U.S. Air Force and his decades working as a veterans service representative and national service officer to help Guam veterans secure benefits.

Senator Terlahi read the resolution noting Kanata began public service in July 1968 as a planner and estimator at the U.S. Naval Ship Repair Facility on Guam and later joined the U.S. Air Force in 1974, where he rose to master sergeant and retired on Oct. 9, 2003. "We're very, very proud of him and so very honored to be able to do this today," the senator said as the resolution was presented on behalf of the legislature.

The text of the resolution—identified in the presentation as Resolution No. 62-38 (COR)—summarizes Kanata’s later work: serving as a veteran service representative for the Guam Office of Veterans Affairs from July 2005 to February 2009; working as a national service officer for the Military Order of the Purple Heart’s Guam office from January 2010 until that office closed in August 2019; and returning to the Guam Office of Veterans Affairs in December 2019 until his retirement on June 30, 2025. It also lists military honors including the Air Force Commendation Medal and an Oak Leaf Cluster.

Commander Nick Francisco of the Military Order of the Purple Heart thanked Kanata for his long service and said he and other veterans had relied on Kanata to follow and advance claims. "I like I said, I asked him, Ron, when you come back, can we continue my claim?" Francisco said, describing Kanata as "the most qualified service officer in the island."

Joe St. Augustine, identified in the ceremony as executive director of the Guam Office of Veterans Affairs, praised Kanata’s commitment and said the retiring service representative deserved time with family after years of work. "He deserves now to have time for himself and his family," St. Augustine said, recounting Kanata’s routine presence at the office and at veterans’ events.

Kanata spoke briefly and urged veterans to continue to pursue benefits. "It's a never ending process, and I urge all veterans to continue with the claims process," he said, adding that the Guam Office of Veterans Affairs is accredited and has qualified service representatives.

The resolution text presented at the ceremony also credits Kanata with assisting veterans to secure benefits and recalls a 2018 legislative recognition—Resolution 443-34—for securing $6,000,000 in compensation benefits. The presentation stated that Guam is home to at least 13,000 veterans and that, "in fiscal year 2023 alone, veterans and their survivors in Guam received approximately $117,000 in compensation and pension benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs." The resolution directs that certified copies be transmitted to Kanata and to the Guam Office of Veterans Affairs.

The ceremony concluded with senators and veterans organization members inviting Kanata’s family and members of the Military Order of the Purple Heart to join for photographs. The presentation was recorded as a legislative recognition and ceremonial adoption of the resolution; the transcript does not include a formal roll-call vote tally in the record provided.