[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 44 (Wednesday, March 27, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E464-E465]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    TRIBUTE TO THE LATE POLICE COLONEL BENJAMIN FRANKLIN AGUON LEON 
                                GUERRERO

                                 ______


                        HON. ROBERT A. UNDERWOOD

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 27, 1996

  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, the island of Guam lost one of its 
premier public servants last Friday night March 22. Guam Police Col. 
Benjamin Franklin Aguon Leon Guerrero, a man who dedicated half his 
life in service to the people of Guam through the police department, 
was stricken by a heart attack which caused his untimely death. He was 
only 44 years of age.
  Col. Leon Guerrero, a close personal friend, worked through the ranks 
at the Guam Police Department starting out as a patrol officer. Prior 
to joining the police force, I vividly remember him as a school aide 
working under my supervision at George Washington High School in 
Mangilao. Since then, I eagerly watched his rise in the ranks while 
taking upon various tasks for the department of public safety, the 
department of corrections, and the Guam Police Department. He went on 
to become the most senior ranking classified officer in the Guam police 
force. He was later appointed to be the deputy chief of the Guam Police 
Department.
  I must also make special mention that he was a published poet and a 
graduate of the 156th session of the Federal Bureau of Investigation 
[FBI] National Academy. In fact, it wasn't too long ago that I 
submitted a statement in the Congressional Record commending him for 
having been the first president of the FBI National Academy Hawaii 
Chapter to hail from outside the State's confines.
  His more than 20 years of public service yielded him a collection of 
awards and decorations. They include the J. Edgar Hoover Medal for 
Distinguished Public Service, the Guam Police Commendation Service 
Award, the Guam Police Distinguished Service Medal, the Commanding 
Officer's Citation, and the Exception Performance Award. He is also 
listed

[[Page E465]]

in the 1992 edition of ``Who's Who in American Law Enforcement.''
  The late Col. Leon Guerrero left a legacy of service and devotion to 
the island of Guam, to its people and to the United States as a whole. 
He is remembered my many as a mentor, an adviser, and a great man 
sensitive to the needs, not only of the police department, but the 
whole island of Guam.
  His passing is a great loss and his presence will surely be missed. 
On behalf of the people of Guam, I offer my condolences and join his 
widow, Julie, and their children: Benjamin Franklin II, Peter Jesse, 
Jesse Ray, Sheena Marie, and Lolana Evette, in mourning the loss of a 
husband, a father, a very dear friend, and fellow servant to the people 
of Guam.

                          ____________________