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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The Texas Legislative Medal of Honor was established |
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to honor gallant and intrepid service by a member of the state |
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military forces of Texas, and through his courageous actions in |
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Vietnam, Sergeant Alfredo "Freddy" Gonzalez distinguished himself |
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as a worthy recipient of this prestigious honor; and |
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WHEREAS, Born May 23, 1946, in Edinburg and a graduate of |
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Edinburg High School, Sergeant Gonzalez enlisted in the U.S. Marine |
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Corps in May 1965; after his first tour of duty in Vietnam, he was |
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chosen to train new marines for guerilla warfare; and |
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WHEREAS, A few months later, Sergeant Gonzalez learned of an |
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ambush in which men who had served under him had been killed; |
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impelled by a strong sense of duty to his fellow marines and to his |
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country, he volunteered for a second tour in Vietnam; and |
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WHEREAS, When, at the end of January 1968, North Vietnamese |
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and Viet Cong troops launched the massive Tet Offensive, Sergeant |
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Gonzalez and his platoon were ordered to Hue to relieve the pressure |
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on that city; en route to Hue, the platoon's convoy was hit by heavy |
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fire on several occasions; during one such encounter, Sergeant |
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Gonzalez saw an injured marine lying in the road ahead and ran |
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through enemy fire to carry the man to cover, receiving |
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fragmentation wounds in the rescue; and |
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WHEREAS, With the column halted by withering fire from a |
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fortified machine-gun bunker, Sergeant Gonzalez proceeded to guide |
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his men to a protective dike; he then moved out onto a road being |
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raked by the gun and destroyed the bunker with hand grenades; later, |
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on February 3, Sergeant Gonzalez was seriously wounded but |
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continued to refuse medical treatment and to lead his men in their |
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attack; and |
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WHEREAS, During fighting in Hue on February 4, his platoon of |
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some 35 troops was again pinned down by a ferocious barrage; telling |
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his unit to stay behind shelter, Sergeant Gonzalez moved forward |
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aggressively with hand grenades and small antitank rockets, firing |
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numerous rounds against enemy emplacements; and |
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WHEREAS, Entering a church, where the North Vietnamese were |
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heavily fortified, he succeeded in suppressing virtually all of |
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their fire; before the last of it could be silenced, however, he was |
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mortally wounded; and |
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WHEREAS, Because he succeeded in destroying so many North |
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Vietnamese positions, Sergeant Gonzalez was credited with saving |
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the lives of the men in his platoon; the following year, in |
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consequence of his extraordinary and selfless action, he was |
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posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, becoming the only marine |
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in combat during the Tet Offensive to receive that award; and |
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WHEREAS, For those with whom he served, the heroism displayed |
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by Sergeant Gonzalez was completely in character; "it seemed like |
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he was everywhere all the time," one remembered; "he was always |
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there in the front, never in the back . . . he was always there for |
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us"; and |
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WHEREAS, Among the awards subsequently conferred on Sergeant |
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Gonzalez were three Purple Hearts, four Presidential Unit |
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Citations, and a Combat Action Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal, National |
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Defense Medal, and Cold War Certificate; in addition, he was the |
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posthumous recipient of two South Vietnamese decorations--the |
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Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with gold palm and star and the Vietnam |
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Service Medal with four bronze stars; in 1996, the U.S. Navy |
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commissioned a new guided missile-destroyer in his honor; and |
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WHEREAS, Through his unhesitating selflessness and his |
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unfaltering devotion to duty, honor, and his country, Sergeant |
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Alfredo Gonzalez embodied the highest ideals of the armed service, |
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and he most assuredly merits the award of this state's supreme |
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military medal; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 80th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby posthumously confer the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor on |
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Sergeant Alfredo "Freddy" Gonzalez in recognition of his heroic |
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service and express to his family its deepest appreciation on |
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behalf of all his fellow Texans; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for the family of Sergeant Gonzalez as an expression of |
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highest regard by the Texas House of Representatives and Senate. |