Alfredo Cantu Gonzalez Alfredo Cantu " Freddy " Gonzalez ( May 23 , 1946 – February 4 , 1968 ) was a United States Marine Corps sergeant who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for service in the Battle of Huế during the Vietnam War . Biography . Gonzalez was born on May 23 , 1946 , in Edinburg , Texas , the only child of mother Dolia Gonzalez . He graduated from Lamar Grammar School in 1955 , and from Edinburg High School ( Texas ) | Edinburg High School in 1965 . Despite his small size , weighing only , he was an All - District football player in high school . He enlisted in the U . S . Marine Corps Reserve from San Antonio , Texas , on June 3 , 1965 , but was discharged and enlisted in the regular Marine Corps a month later , on July 6 . He completed recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego , California , the following September , and individual combat training at Camp Pendleton , California , that October . He then became a rifleman with Headquarters and Service Company , 1st Reconnaissance Battalion , 1st Marine Division , and served in that capacity until January 1966 . Promoted to Private First Class on January 1 , he served a one - year tour of duty in Vietnam as a rifleman and squad leader with Company L , 3rd Battalion , 4th Marines , 3rd Marine Division . He was promoted to Lance Corporal on October 1 and to Corporal on December 1 before his tour ended in February 1967 . Upon his return to the United States , he saw duty as a rifleman with the 2nd Battalion , 6th Marines , 2nd Marine Division , at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina . He became an instructor at Camp Lejeune , teaching Marines the techniques of guerrilla warfare , and expected to serve out the rest of the war in that capacity . His plans changed when he learned that an entire platoon , including men who had served under him during his tour , had been killed in an ambush in Vietnam . Gonzalez requested to be sent back for a second deployment . Ordered to the West Coast in May 1967 , he joined the 3rd Replacement Company , Staging Battalion , at Camp Pendleton in California for transfer to east Asia . On July 1 , 1967 , he was promoted to sergeant , and later that month arrived in the Republic of Vietnam . He served as a squad leader and platoon sergeant with the 3rd Platoon , Company A , 1st Battalion , 1st Marines , 1st Marine Division . During the initial phase of the Battle of Huế in late January 1968 , Gonzalez and his unit were sent by truck convoy to reinforce units in the city . When the convoy came under fire near the village of Lang Van Lrong on January 31 , he led his men in clearing the area . Further down the road , he received shrapnel wounds while carrying an injured man to safety . When the convoy was halted by a machine gun bunker , he led his platoon towards the position and destroyed it with hand grenades . Eventually reaching the city of Huế , his unit became engaged in heavy combat there . Gonzalez was seriously wounded on February 3 , but refused medical treatment . The next day , when a large North Vietnamese force inflicted heavy casualties on his company , he used anti - tank weapons to fire on the fortified positions . He successfully checked the North Vietnamese advance and silenced a rocket emplacement before being mortally wounded by a rocket . He took cover in the Saint Joan of Arc Catholic Church , where he died . For his actions during the Battle of Huế from January 31 to February 4 , 1968 , Gonzalez was awarded the Medal of Honor . Vice President Spiro T . Agnew formally presented the medal to Gonzalez ' s mother on October 31 , 1969 , during a ceremony at the White House . He is buried at Hillcrest Memorial Park in his hometown of Edinburg , Texas . Medal of Honor citation . Rank and organization : Sergeant , U . S . Marine Corps , Company A , 1st Battalion , 1st Marines , 1st Marine Division ( Rein ) , FMF . Place and date : Near Thua Thien , Republic of Vietnam , 4 February 1968 . Entered service at : San Antonio , Tex . Born : 23 May 1946 , Edinburg Tex . Citation : For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as platoon commander , 3d Platoon , Company A . On 31 January 1968 , during the initial phase of Operation Hue City , Sgt . Gonzalez ' unit was formed as a reaction force and deployed to Hue to relieve the pressure on the beleaguered city . While moving by truck convoy along Route No . 1 , near the village of Lang Van Lrong , the Marines received a heavy volume of enemy fire . Sgt . Gonzalez aggressively maneuvered the Marines in his platoon , and directed their fire until the area was cleared of snipers . Immediately after crossing a river south of Hue , the column was again hit by intense enemy fire . One of the Marines on top of a tank was wounded and fell to the ground in an exposed position . With complete disregard for his safety , Sgt . Gonzalez ran through the fire - swept area to the assistance of his injured comrade . He lifted him up and though receiving fragmentation wounds during the rescue , he carried the wounded Marine to a covered position for treatment . Due to the increased volume and accuracy of enemy fire from a fortified machine gun bunker on the side of the road , the company was temporarily halted . Realizing the gravity of the situation , Sgt . Gonzalez exposed himself to the enemy fire and moved his platoon along the east side of a bordering rice paddy to a dike directly across from the bunker . Though fully aware of the danger involved , he moved to the fire - swept road and destroyed the hostile position with hand grenades . Although seriously wounded again on 3 February , he steadfastly refused medical treatment and continued to supervise his men and lead the attack . On 4 February , the enemy had again pinned the company down , inflicting heavy casualties with automatic weapons and rocket fire . Sgt . Gonzalez , utilizing a number of light antitank assault weapons , fearlessly moved from position to position firing numerous rounds at the heavily fortified enemy emplacements . He successfully knocked out a rocket position and suppressed much of the enemy fire before falling mortally wounded . The heroism , courage , and dynamic leadership displayed by Sgt . Gonzalez reflected great credit upon himself and the Marine Corps , and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U . S . Naval Service . He gallantly gave his life for his country . Honors . The United States Navy guided missile destroyer , commissioned in 1996 , is named in his honor . His mother , Dolia , has an uncommonly close relationship with the ship and its crew . She attends many of the ship ' s major ceremonies , including departures and arrivals from deployments and changes of command . The crewmen exchange letters with Dolia Gonzalez , known as the ship ' s " mother , " and call her during deployments . The Alfredo Gonzalez Texas State Veterans Home in McAllen , Texas is named in his honor . Two biographies by former Edinburg resident John W . Flores ; " When The River Dreams : The Life of Marine Sgt . Freddy Gonzalez , " printed in fall 2006 , and " Marine Sgt . Freddy Gonzalez : Vietnam War Hero , " scheduled for release by McFarland Publishing Company , in fall 2013 . The Museum of South Texas History holds a permanent display containing Gonzalez ' s uniform and medals . At the The Basic School in Stafford County , Virginia , where Marine Corps officers are trained , there is an Alfredo Gonzalez Hall . In Edinburg , both an elementary school and a major east - west thoroughfare ( Freddy Gonzalez Drive ) are named in his honor .