It's with a heavy heart that we share the passing of Viliamu (Vi) Kuaea on January 5, 2025 and the Celebration of Life that was held on January 15, 2025.

Viliamu exemplified what it meant to live a life of faith and service to others. He was a dedicated public servant with a passion for advancing the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander community. We're grateful to have known Viliamu as a recipient of the 2024 FAPAC Civilian Award for Excellence in Individual Achievement for his contributions as the Chair of the Asian American Pacific Islander Employee Resource Group (AAPI-ERG) at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Viliamu's legacy will continue through FAPAC's mission and the AAPI-ERG community within the Navy. 

Our deepest condolences to Viliamu's family, friends, and colleagues as we mourn this incredible loss to our community. He was truly one-of-a-kind. Donations and words of support can be offered through the family's GoFundMe page. 

Citation for Viliamu Suafo’a Kuaea's 2024 FAPAC Civilian Award for Excellence in Individual Achievement:

Viliamu Suafo’a Kuaea is a program analyst and improvement specialist, a Certified NAVSEA Lean Six Sigma Black belt and the Chair for the Asian American Pacific Islander Employee Resource Group (AAPI-ERG) at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Viliamu conducts a wide range of technical work, received demand signals to perform on various technical projects and Lean events on critical path work as well as supporting our safety, quality, delivery, cost, and morale. As the Chair for the AAPI-ERG, Viliamu has built numerous bridges with multi departments and individuals that have created a culture of supporting each other, including all ERG's in the command by lending resources and learning about their journeys. Viliamu looks forward to creating enterprise alignment and helping stand up AAPI Teams across NAVSEA shipyards to create an AAPI ERG Summit where discussions on common barriers and opportunities can help the AAPI communities.