Editorial: Dolia Gonzalez, in some ways, proved to be as heroic, iconic as her celebrated son

The Rio Grande Valley’s most celebrated war hero is Alfredo “Freddy” Gonzalez, the posthumous Medal of Honor recipient who was killed by a rocket-propelled grenade after a fierce four-day battle with North Vietnamese troops on Feb. 4, 1968, during the Tet offensive. In tribute, his name is seen throughout the Valley on a school, a park, a veterans’ home and streets. And not just in the Valley but elsewhere in the country, including a street at Camp Lejeune military base in Jacksonville, North Carolina. A Navy guided-missile destroyer bearing his name still patrols the seas.

Gonzalez, who was a 21-year-old Marine sergeant in charge of the 3rd Platoon, Company A, First Battalion, First Marine Division at the time of his death, had been an athletic standout at Edinburg High School before his enlistment — he didn’t wait to be drafted, but first joined the Marine Reserves and later the active military. As a Marine he became known for his leadership, dedication and strength. The government proclamation awarding him our nation’s highest honor notes that during his final engagement near Thua Thien during Operation Hue City, Gonzalez was injured several times over the course of four days but kept fighting and leading his platoon before the final grenade blast felled him.

His mother Dolia, who died Aug. 12, 2024, six days shy of her 95th birthday, became a Valley celebrity in her own right, and in many ways she was just as iconic. She worked 35 years at the diner of Edinburg’s Echo Motel, and many people would go to eat there just to see and hopefully meet her.

In Dolia they saw many of the same characteristics that led her son to become a war hero.

They saw a woman whose dedication as a single, working mother set an example for her son’s work ethic as a student, football star and Marine; she worked at the Echo well into her 80s. The drive and tenacity with which Freddy engaged North Vietnamese forces was evident in Dolia, who waged a battle with her own country after the Department of Veterans Affairs cut off her survivors’ benefits — she was his only direct relative — and even demanded that she return much of the money she had received.

After years of the struggle and the attention her battle received, a local Albertson’s food store eventually settled the military’s claim and hired her as a greeter to help defray the loss of her government benefit.

Even with the two jobs, Dolia displayed the same sense of responsibility and community spirit that likely led to Freddy’s enlistment, as she also served as a volunteer at the Edinburg elementary school that bears her son’s name.

And through it all she still invested time and effort to champion Freddy’s life and legacy, dutifully cooperating with the many requests for her time by local and national media, historians and researchers who wanted to know more about her famous son.

As the saying goes, it’s easy to see where the son got his special traits.

After 56 years of mourning her heroic son and helping to keep his memory alive, Dolia and Freddy are now reunited. A grateful Valley will remember both of them, and the contributions they made to our community, and to our country.

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