Freddy Gonzalez awarded state’s top military honor

AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry’s signature on a bill last week posthumously bestowed upon Edinburg’s most famous Vietnam War hero the highest military honor the state can give.

Marine Sgt. Alfredo “Freddy” Gonzalez becomes the sixth person to receive the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor in the 10 years since it was created.

The Legislature passed House Concurrent Resolution 121 in May and Perry signed it into law Friday.

During a second, voluntary tour in Vietnam in 1968, before he died in battle, Gonzalez was credited for saving the lives of other Marines during a series of courageous feats in the Tet Offensive.

He received a long string of posthumous awards, including the U.S. Medal of Honor — the highest military recognition in the nation — three Purple Hearts and a Navy missile-destroyer named after him.

State Rep. Aaron Peña, D-Edinburg, author of the resolution, said he wanted to make sure Gonzalez’s mother, Dolia, received the Texas honor for her son while she was still alive.

Peña affectionately calls the 77-year-old woman “the mother of Edinburg” and has boyhood memories of her telling him to stop running in the Edinburg bowling alley where she worked and he went to play games.

He and others grew up understanding Gonzalez was a hero who represented the sacrifices many South Texas soldiers made in wartime, he said.

“I couldn’t understand how the United States government could recognize his sacrifice, yet the state of Texas, being closer to him and his family, had not done so,” Peña said.

In Edinburg, an elementary school and major roadway bear Freddy Gonzalez’s name.

His mother called the state honor “awesome” and said she will be proud to receive the award on his behalf.

She was 16 years old when her only child was born. They two grew up together, she said.

In 1969, the grieving mother was on hand to accept the U.S. Medal of Honor.

In 1996, she smashed the bottle to launch the USS Gonzalez, a Navy ship named after her son and commissioned Oct. 12 of that year.

She still regularly travels for award ceremonies and reunions with her son’s former Marine buddies. She’s also a favorite at local patriotic parades and community events and keeps busy waiting tables at the Echo Hotel & Conference Center in Edinburg and greeting customers at the H.E.B. supermarket on Closner Boulevard.

But after her son died, she spiraled downward, she said

Shortly thereafter, though, he appeared to her in a dream, she recalled, and told her to pull herself together. She said she has been going ever since.

“I had a dream after he passed away and he told me that I had so much to do,” she said. “But he didn’t tell me how much I had to do.”

The Legislature has chosen a recipient of the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor every two years since 1997.

____

Elizabeth Hernandez covers the state capital for Valley Freedom Newspapers. She is based in Austin and can be reached at (512) 323-0622.

The Life of Sgt. Alfredo Cantu Gonzalez

May 23, 1946: Born in Edinburg to Dolia Gonzalez and Andrés Cantu

1965: Graduates from Edinburg High School; his mother would later call this the proudest moment of her life

June 3, 1965: Enlists in United States Marine Corps Reserve

July 6, 1965: Enlists in United States Marine Corp

January 1966: Deploys to Vietnam, first tour of duty

January 1967: Returns to United States, stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina where he prepared fellow Marines for guerilla warfare

May 1967: After learning of the loss of an entire platoon in Vietnam, many of which were soldiers he served with while in Vietnam, Gonzalez volunteers for a second tour of duty in the war.

July 1967: Deploys to Vietnam, second tour of duty

January 31, 1968: Sgt. Gonzalez is shot while rescuing a fellow wounded Marine after the platoon is ambushed by Viet Cong dressed as civilians.

February 3, 1968: Sgt. Gonzalez shot again, but refused medical treatment, ordering the medics to take care of the other Marines.

February 4, 1968: Sgt. Gonzalez and his platoon engage the Viet Cong, who are holed up in St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Hue City, firing at U.S. soldiers with rockets and automatic weapons. Sgt. Gonzalez barrages the enemy with LAW rockets. When quiet falls, it is thought that all of the Viet Cong inside the church have been killed. However, one survivor shoots and kills Sgt. Gonzalez.

1968: Buried, Hillcrest Cemetery in Edinburg

Oct. 31, 1969: Posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest U.S. military recognition

February 18, 1995: USS Alfredo Gonzalez, a Marine destroyer, christened by Dolia Gonzalez in Bath, Maine.

Awards:

Purple Heart

Vietnam Presidential Unit Citation

National Defense Service Medal

Vietnam Service Medal with two bronze stars

Vietnam Gallantry Cross with palm

Vietnam Military Merit Medal

Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal

Recognition:

Alfredo Cantu Gonzalez American Legion Post in Edinburg

Alfredo Gonzalez Athletic Award at Edinburg High School in Edinburg

Alfredo Gonzalez Boulevard at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina

Alfredo Gonzalez Dining Hall at the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi

Freddy Gonzalez Drive in Edinburg

Freddy Gonzalez Elementary School in Edinburg

Alfredo Gonzalez Veterans Home, McAllen