Special Humboldt Heroes ceremony this Friday at the Eureka Inn honoring Roy Cantu and his father Clemente Cantu

(All photos courtesy Scott Hammond)

The public is invited to  a special Humboldt Heroes ceremony on Friday, December 19th at noon. It will be held at the Eureka Inn.

"For the first time, we will be honoring a father and son that both served honorably in our armed forces.  The gentlemen are Roy Cantu and his father Clemente Cantu," said local business owner Scott Hammond. 

Humboldt Heroes Press Release:

The public is invited to join us in a special Humboldt Heroes ceremony on Friday, December 19th at noon.  For the first time, we will be honoring a father and son that both served honorably in our armed forces.  The gentlemen are Roy Cantu and his father Clemente Cantu.

Due to the strong forecast of rain on the 19^th, our neighbors at the historic Eureka Inn have invited us to hold the ceremony inside their beautiful lobby, that is magnificently decorated for the Christmas holidays.  Thank you very much, Mr. and Mrs. Zhu!

Clem Cantu was born in Casper, Wyoming in February 1929.  His family moved to the small town of Alturas, California, and in 1948 there were limited opportunities for 19-year-olds.  He enlisted in the Army and served in Italy after World War II as part of the occupational forces in an infantry and band unit. He played the trumpet.

He met and married his lovely spouse Maria in 1949 in Trieste, Italy and returned to the United States in 1952 with his wife and son upon his honorable discharge.

The family moved to Humboldt County in 1973 from Redding, to fill the position of manager and shop maintenance Supervisor (OMS-37) for the National Guard.  He was assigned as the company First Sergeant in Eureka and retired in 1989 after proudly serving his country for 41 years.

Maria passed away in 2019 after they had celebrated 76 years of marriage.

Clem is a former member of the Red Bluff Elks Lodge #1250 and a former member of the Eureka VFW Post 1872, where he served as Post Commander.  He has also served as President of the Humboldt Amateur Radio Club, called the HARC.

Clem is very happy to live in Humboldt County because he enjoys the small-town environment.  He says that the only thing as fabulous as the weather here is the people!

Clem’s son Roy was born in Italy in October 1950.  He enlisted in the Navy on Veteran’s Day (November 11^th) of 1968 because he wanted to receive a technical education and serve in the military like his dad.

Roy served aboard three nuclear ballistic missile submarines, completing 13 patrols in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans as a sonar/electronics technician.  He was then assigned as the Quality Assurance supervisor/auditor for Submarine Squadron 7 in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. 

When Roy completed his instructor training, he advanced to Master Training Specialist, training students at the Fleet Submarine Warfare center in San Diego.  Roy retired from the Navy as a Chief Petty Officer in 1990, having proudly served for 21 years. 

Roy worked as an acoustic test technician for International Transducer Corporation in Santa Barbara.  He moved to Eureka in 1994 and met and married his wife Lori here.  Roy and Lori celebrated their 40^th anniversary this past October.  As you can tell, the Cantus are men of steadfast loyalty and perseverance.

In Eureka, Roy worked as a photographer and internet web designer until he retired in 2012. 

He enjoys living in Eureka because he can be close to his family and great friends and also enjoys the weather and the natural beauty here.

We are so pleased to get to honor and to say, “Thank you!” to both Clemente and Roy.  Our nation and our community are grateful for their sacrifice and service.