The Committee on Health and Veterans Affairs is calling on the community to help locate the families of Guam’s fallen service members whose names appear on the “Medal of the Greatest Sacrifice” — I Milåyan i Mås Takhilo’ na Sakrifisiu.
The civilian honor, created under Public Law 30-193 by the late Speaker Ben Pangelinan, recognizes the ultimate sacrifice of Guam’s sons and daughters who gave their lives in service to the United States. The medal serves as a gesture of gratitude and healing for the families of the island’s fallen heroes.
According to the committee, 56 unclaimed medals were recently discovered at the Guam Congress Building, honoring service members who fought in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
“It is a deeply humbling honor to be entrusted with this project,” said Sen. Sabrina Salas Matanane, chairperson of the committee. “These medals carry not only the names of our fallen, but also the weight of our island’s gratitude. We want to ensure they are placed into the hands of the families who deserve them most.”
The committee urges anyone who may be related to or know the surviving family members of the listed service members to contact the Office of Legislative Secretary Senator Sabrina Salas Matanane by phone at 671-989-2572, by email at office.senatorbri@guamlegislature.org, or via social media at Together Bri Can.
The outreach aims to ensure that the medals of remembrance and appreciation finally reach the families of Guam’s heroes.