A lost son of Texas, Sgt. Alfredo “Freddy” Gonzalez of the Rio Grande Valley

“Some people wonder all their lives if they’ve made a difference. The Marines don’t have that problem.” — President Ronald Reagan

You have probably never heard his story, and, for a while, the U.S. government made it impossible for you to read about Sergeant Alfredo “Freddy” Gonzalez. But you need to learn about the young man from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and the greatness, valor, and sacrifice that policies tried to erase from American military history.

Freddy was raised by a single mother, Maria Dolia Gonzalez, after her husband, Andres Cantu, left his wife and only child. She worked the farm fields picking and hoeing crops, and as a waitress in a short order restaurant, to provide for her son. The financial hardships Dolia endured are probably what gave her diminutive son his values of perseverance and self-reliance. Regardless of the fact that he stood just 5’4” inches tall and weighed 135 pounds, Freddy became an All-District football player at Edinburg High School while also holding down after-school and summertime jobs to help supplement his mother’s modest income. The only time friends can remember him disobeying his mother’s wishes was when he decided to join the U.S. Marine Corps after finishing high school in 1965.

Freddy Gonzalez had endless reasons to surrender to anger. His community was influenced by systemic racism that was controlled by a predominantly white leadership and economic influence. Opportunities were limited for Hispanics on the border, regardless of how hard they worked or their level of education and intelligence. Freddy may have spent his entire life trying to prove himself an equal and to overcome the assumptions about him based upon his stature. Dolia had told an interviewer that she was watching a John Wayne movie with her son and he had leaned over and whispered into her ear, “Some day I’m going to be a Marine just like that.” Perhaps, his determination was just a form of overcompensation for his size.