David M. Gonzales

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

David M. Gonzales
June 9, 1923 – April 25, 1945
Pvt. David M. Gonzales, Medal of Honor recipient
Place of birth	Pacoima, California
Place of death	Luzon, Philippines
Allegiance	U.S. Army
Years of service	1945
Rank	Private First Class
Unit	127th Infantry, 32d Infantry Division
Battles/wars	World War II, *Battle of Luzon
Awards	Medal of Honor Bronze Star Purple Heart

Private First Class David M. Gonzales (June 9, 1923–April 25, 1945) was a United States Army soldier who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor — the United States' highest military decoration — for his heroic actions during World War II. On December 8, 1945, at age 22, PFC Gonzales was killed in action in the Philippines while, in the face of fierce enemy machine gun fire, digging out fellow soldiers who had been buried in a bomb explosion.

1 Early years
2 World War II
3 Medal of Honor citation
4 Controversy
5 In memory
6 Awards and recognitions
7 See also
8 Notes
9 External links

[edit] Early years

David Gonzales, born in Pacoima, California, was one of 14 children born to Mexican immigrants. He joined the U.S. Army at the recruiting station in his hometown at the outbreak of World War II. On December 1944, he was assigned to Company A, 127th Infantry, 32nd Infantry Division and sent to combat in the Philippines. He left behind his family, which included his mother Mrs. Rita Gonzales Duarte, his wife Steffanie and his newborn son David Jr.

[edit] World War II

On February 1, 1945, Gonzales, after only a few weeks with his division, was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge. On April 25, 1945, Gonzales' company found itself engaged in combat against Japanese forces at Villa Verde Trail on Luzon island in the Philippines. A 500-pound bomb smashed into the company's perimeter, burying alive five men. Gonzales and his commanding officer rushed to the buried men's rescue. His commanding officer was killed by enemy machine gun fire while Gonzales was digging out the men using a shovel and his bare hands. In an attempt to dig faster, Gonzales stood up, exposing himself to enemy fire. With his actions he was able to rescue three of the men before he was hit and mortally wounded.

On December 8, 1945, President Harry S. Truman, posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor to Gonzales, presenting the medal to his surviving family.

On February 2, 1949, Gonzales' body arrived in a funeral train to San Fernando, California where he was laid to rest.^[1]

[edit] Medal of Honor citation

Pvt. David M. Gonzales Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company A, 127th Infantry, 32d Infantry Division. Place and date: Villa Verde Trail, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 25 April 1945. Entered service at: Pacoima, California Birth: Pacoima, California G.O. No: 115, 8 December 1945. Citation:

“

He was pinned down with his company. As enemy fire swept the area, making any movement extremely hazardous, a 500-pound bomb smashed into the company's perimeter, burying 5 men with its explosion. Pfc. Gonzales, without hesitation, seized an entrenching tool and under a hail of fire crawled 15 yards to his entombed comrades, where his commanding officer, who had also rushed forward, was beginning to dig the men out. Nearing his goal, he saw the officer struck and instantly killed by machinegun fire. Undismayed, he set to work swiftly and surely with his hands and the entrenching tool while enemy sniper and machinegun bullets struck all about him. He succeeded in digging one of the men out of the pile of rock and sand. To dig faster he stood up regardless of the greater danger from so exposing himself. He extricated a second man, and then another. As he completed the liberation of the third, he was hit and mortally wounded, but the comrades for whom he so gallantly gave his life were safely evacuated. Pfc. Gonzales' valiant and intrepid conduct exemplifies the highest tradition of the military service."^[2]

”

[edit] Controversy


This photo was erroneously displayed in the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes and was replaced with the photo shown at the top of the page.

In 1999, David Gonzales, Jr. and his wife Bea attended a ceremony for war heroes in Santa Ana, California. There they discovered that the picture the Army was sending out to military ceremonies was not of his father, but of someone else. Gonzales Jr. wrote to the Army in Washington, D.C. to tell them of their mistake, but did not receive a response. He then wrote to Congressman Howard Berman, who in turn referred the letter to his aide Fred Flores. Flores, who was also from Pacoima, California, immediately called Pentagon officials and had them correct the mistake. However, the controversy did not end there. Flores found out that the family had only been presented with a Medal of Honor and a duplicate Purple Heart Medal (The original one was stolen) and he realized that there were many other medals, including a Bronze Star Medal which Gonzales had earned.

During a November 7, 2002 ceremony at Los Angeles Mission College, Congressman Berman presented David Gonzales, Jr. the following medals earned by his father: the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two Bronze Service Stars, the Philippine Liberation Medal, the World War II Honorable Service Lapel Button, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Expert Rifle Badge, and the Gold Star Lapel Button that identifies the next of kin of members of the military who lost their lives while engaged in action.^[3]

The photo of a soldier who was not Gonzales, but identified as that of the medal winner and that was erroneously displayed in the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes was removed and replaced with a correct one of Gonzales after the renovations of the Pentagon — made necessary by the 9/11 attack — were completed on March 31, 2003.^[4]

Additional information on the event from an eye witness: The bomb that fell into the perimter burying the solders was cited erroneously in an early 1990's military publication as being a Japanese bomb. The third man retrieved, my father, and an obvious eye witness, said the 500 pound bomb was dropped accidentally on the wrong hill by an American P-47 Thunderbolt. The Army Air Corps was using a tactic called "skip bombing" and were fusing the bombs for delayed action detonation to destroy the labyrinth of Japanese caves and tunnels in the northern Luzon campaign. This fusing allowed the bomb to bury itself deeply into the ground prior to detonation. This unfortunate event trapped the American soldiers in their standing foxholes (or bomb crater as it more than likely was). Immediately after the detonation of the 500 pound bomb, rescue efforts were initiated as described above. David M. Gonzales was in the process of rescuing the third soldier when mortally wounded. The account mentions machine gun fire as the culprit of the killing of Gonzales, the Company Commander and up to a staggering 40 others. According to the third solder, Senior NCO, Sgt. Kouts, the gunfire came from a single Japanese sniper, most likely armed with an American M-1 rifle or possibly several rifles at his disposal. The Japanese sniper was probably well concealed in what is referred to as a "spider-cave" (a cave with a very small and nearly un-detectable opening). It is unclear as to whether or not the sniper was ever taken out on that day. The quick thinking and heroic actions of David M. Gonzales saved the lives of the American soldiers as described above. Maribeth and Woody Kouts

[edit] In memory

In honor of David M. Gonzales, Pacoima Park in Los Angeles County, California was renamed David M. Gonzales/Pacoima Recreational Center. The local Army recruiting station there also carries his name, as does a county Probation Department camp in Malibu.^[3]