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78R4072 MMS-D

By:  Pena                                                       H.C.R. No. 51 



CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
	WHEREAS, The Texas Legislative Medal of Honor was established 
to honor gallant and intrepid service by a member of the state 
military forces of Texas, and through his courageous actions in 
Vietnam, Sergeant Alfredo "Freddy" Gonzalez distinguished himself 
as a worthy recipient of this prestigious honor; and
	WHEREAS, Born May 23, 1946, in Edinburg and a graduate of 
Edinburg High School, Sergeant Gonzalez enlisted in the U.S. Marine 
Corps in May 1965; after his first tour of duty in Vietnam, he was 
chosen to train new marines for guerilla warfare; and
	WHEREAS, A few months later, Sergeant Gonzalez learned of an 
ambush in which men who had served under him had been killed;  
impelled by a strong sense of duty to his fellow marines and to his 
country, he volunteered for a second tour in Vietnam; and
	WHEREAS, When, at the end of January 1968, North Vietnamese 
and Viet Cong troops launched the massive Tet Offensive, Sergeant 
Gonzalez and his platoon were ordered to Hue to relieve the pressure 
on that city; en route to Hue, the platoon's convoy was hit by heavy 
fire on several occasions; during one such encounter, Sergeant 
Gonzalez saw an injured marine lying in the road ahead and ran 
through enemy fire to carry the man to cover, receiving 
fragmentation wounds in the rescue; and
	WHEREAS, With the column halted by withering fire from a 
fortified machine-gun bunker, Sergeant Gonzalez proceeded to guide 
his men to a protective dike; he then moved out onto a road being 
raked by the gun and destroyed the bunker with hand grenades; later, 
on February 3, Sergeant Gonzalez was seriously wounded but 
continued to refuse medical treatment and to lead his men in their 
attack; and
	WHEREAS, During fighting in Hue on February 4, his platoon of 
some 35 troops was again pinned down by a ferocious barrage; telling 
his unit to stay behind shelter, Sergeant Gonzalez moved forward 
aggressively with hand grenades and small antitank rockets, firing 
numerous rounds against enemy emplacements; and
	WHEREAS, Entering a church, where the North Vietnamese were 
heavily fortified, he succeeded in suppressing virtually all of 
their fire; before the last of it could be silenced, however, he was 
mortally wounded; and
	WHEREAS, Because he succeeded in destroying so many North 
Vietnamese positions, Sergeant Gonzalez was credited with saving 
the lives of the men in his platoon; the following year, in 
consequence of his extraordinary and selfless action, he was 
posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, becoming the only marine 
in combat during the Tet Offensive to receive that award; and
	WHEREAS, For those with whom he served, the heroism displayed 
by Sergeant Gonzalez was completely in character; "it seemed like 
he was everywhere all the time," one remembered; "he was always 
there in the front, never in the back . . . he was always there for 
us"; and
	WHEREAS, Among the awards subsequently conferred on Sergeant 
Gonzalez were three Purple Hearts, four Presidential Unit 
Citations, and a Combat Action Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal, National 
Defense Medal, and Cold War Certificate; in addition, he was the 
posthumous recipient of two South Vietnamese decorations--the 
Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with gold palm and star and the Vietnam 
Service Medal with four bronze stars; in 1996, the U.S. Navy 
commissioned a new guided missile-destroyer in his honor; and
	WHEREAS, Through his unhesitating selflessness and his 
unfaltering devotion to duty, honor, and his country, Sergeant 
Alfredo Gonzalez embodied the highest ideals of the armed service, 
and he most assuredly merits the award of this state's supreme 
military medal; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the 78th Legislature of the State of Texas 
hereby posthumously confer the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor on 
Sergeant Alfredo "Freddy" Gonzalez in recognition of his heroic 
service and express to his family its deepest appreciation on 
behalf of all his fellow Texans; and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 
prepared for the family of Sergeant Gonzalez as an expression of 
highest regard by the Texas House of Representatives and Senate.