James Moylan

Darlene Blaz, reflects upon the memory of her father, the late U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Juan Ogo Blaz, as she speak during a press conference at the office of Guam Del. James Moylan in Hagåtña on Oct. 14, 2026. Juan Blaz was a the recipient of the Distinguished-Service Cross for saving the lives of fellow soldiers and his actions in performing his duties while serving during the Vietnam War.

A photo of the late U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Juan Ogo Blaz is displayed by his daughter, Darlene Blaz, center, and his wife, Vionisia Blaz, as they gather together with Sen. Sabrina Salas Matanane, left, Vice Speaker Tony Ada and Guam Delgate James Moylan after a press conference held at Moylan’s office of in Hagåtña on Oct. 14, 2026. Juan Blaz was a recipient of the Distinguished-Service Cross for saving the lives of fellow soldiers and for his actions in performing his duties while serving in the Vietnam War. Efforts are being made for the award of valor to be upgraded to a Congressional Medal of Honor, which now only awaits presidential approval.

A photo of the late U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Juan Ogo Blaz is displayed by his daughter, Darlene Blaz, center, and his wife, Vionisia Blaz, as they gather together with Sen. Sabrina Salas Matanane, left, Vice Speaker Tony Ada and Guam Delgate James Moylan after a press conference held at Moylan’s office of in Hagåtña on Oct. 14, 2026. Juan Blaz was a recipient of the Distinguished-Service Cross for saving the lives of fellow soldiers and for his actions in performing his duties while serving in the Vietnam War. Efforts are being made for the award of valor to be upgraded to a Congressional Medal of Honor, which now only awaits presidential approval.

Darlene Blaz, reflects upon the memory of her father, the late U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Juan Ogo Blaz, as she speak during a press conference at the office of Guam Del. James Moylan in Hagåtña on Oct. 14, 2026. Juan Blaz was a the recipient of the Distinguished-Service Cross for saving the lives of fellow soldiers and his actions in performing his duties while serving during the Vietnam War.

A photo of the late U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Juan Ogo Blaz is displayed by his daughter, Darlene Blaz, center, and his wife, Vionisia Blaz, as they gather together with Sen. Sabrina Salas Matanane, left, Vice Speaker Tony Ada and Guam Delgate James Moylan after a press conference held at Moylan’s office of in Hagåtña on Oct. 14, 2026. Juan Blaz was a recipient of the Distinguished-Service Cross for saving the lives of fellow soldiers and for his actions in performing his duties while serving in the Vietnam War. Efforts are being made for the award of valor to be upgraded to a Congressional Medal of Honor, which now only awaits presidential approval.

A photo of the late U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Juan Ogo Blaz is displayed by his daughter, Darlene Blaz, center, and his wife, Vionisia Blaz, as they gather together with Sen. Sabrina Salas Matanane, left, Vice Speaker Tony Ada and Guam Delgate James Moylan after a press conference held at Moylan’s office of in Hagåtña on Oct. 14, 2026. Juan Blaz was a recipient of the Distinguished-Service Cross for saving the lives of fellow soldiers and for his actions in performing his duties while serving in the Vietnam War. Efforts are being made for the award of valor to be upgraded to a Congressional Medal of Honor, which now only awaits presidential approval.

The paperwork to award the first Medal to a son of Guam now sits with President Donald Trump, according to Del. James Moylan.

Moylan on Wednesday said it’s the “final, major step” in the process. The “monumental milestone” comes after an official sign-off on the award by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, said Moylan, who is seeking reelection.

The Medal of Honor would recognize the actions of the late Army Sgt. Maj. Juan Ogo Blaz for his actions during the Vietnam War on Jan. 18, 1969.

“This is monumental news for our entire island,” Moylan said. “For generations, Guam has answered the call to defend freedom, consistently maintaining one of the highest — if not the highest — per-capita military enlistment rates in the entire country.”

During the Vietnam War, Blaz, then a staff sergeant, served with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division. He is a recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army’s second-highest military decoration.

On Jan. 18, 1969, he and his platoon came under intense enemy fire, resulting in the wounding of his platoon leader.

Moylan on Wednesday recounted that Blaz took command, pulled injured soldiers to safety and led an assault against an enemy bunker.

According to Moylan’s congressional record, Blaz suffered an injury to his right shoulder while evacuating wounded and refused medical evacuation at the time.

When his platoon was pinned down by heavy machine gun fire, Blaz charged alone across a ravine and “silenced” the machine gun, suffering a second wound from an AK-47 and again refused medevac.

When close air support arrived, they had trouble putting rocket fire on the bunkers that were targeting Blaz’s platoon.

Blaz repeatedly exposed himself to gunfire to mark the enemy positions with smoke for the platoon’s close air support aircraft.

After the enemy positions were neutralized, Blaz allowed himself to receive medical treatment.

“That is extraordinary courage. That is selfless service. And that is the heroism of a son of Guam whose actions deserve to be remembered by our entire nation,” Moylan said.

“This milestone did not happen overnight,” Moylan said. “It represents years of unwavering commitment from those who never gave up on seeing Sgt. Maj. Blaz receive the honor he rightfully deserves.”

Blaz died on Sept. 3, 2024, and is survived by his family, including his daughter Darlene Blaz.

Speaking at Moylan’s office Wednesday, Darlene Blaz said that while her father’s recognition comes with mixed emotions, it’s an exciting moment.

“It saddens me to know that my father is no longer with us to experience the reality of this long-awaited moment, his moment, and knowing that it is one step away is incredibly exciting,” she said. “For me, they’re no greater honor than to witness such, to be able to witness such a historic moment in my lifetime.”

In the 118th Congress, Moylan said legislation was introduced through the fiscal year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act to support the reconsideration of Blaz’s Medal of Honor case.

Additionally, 16 other members of Congress also petitioned for Trump to grant final approval for the award.

Moylan said retired Marine Corps Col. Joaquin Danny Santos helped greatly to advance the effort to recognize Blaz.

Santos on Wednesday said two other Army veterans have been submitted to have their Distinguished-Service Crosses elevated to the Medal of Honor.

These veterans are retired Sgt. Maj. Martin Ada Manglona and the late Sgt. Joseph Meno Perez.

Santos said he gathered information on the actions of all three veterans for the potential elevation in compliance with the National Defense Authorization Act of 2017.

Also included in the 1996 NDAA was a provision for a systematic review of Asian-American and Pacific Islander veterans awarded a Distinguished-Service Cross or Navy Cross who may have been denied a Medal of Honor due to racial prejudice at the time of their service.

Santos said that many of Guam’s Vietnam veterans, they have a shared experience of racism overseas.

He recalled the actions of the late Perez, who picked up an enemy hand grenade and absorbed the blast with his body to save his comrades.

“68 Vietnam veterans were awarded the Medal of Honor for doing exactly the same thing that Joseph Meno Perez did,” he said. “The fact is that racism existed. So, it’s possible that — because the Vietnam War was very unpopular — you know, ‘Hey let’s not raise the issue.’ And he’s a person of color, so what the hell?”

The hope now is that Perez’s and Manglona’s Distinguished Service Crosses get upgraded to Medals of Honor.

There’s no timeline on when the president p