Alfredo Cantu Gonzalez
| Alfredo Cantu Gonzalez | |
|---|---|
 
Medal of Honor recipient Sgt Alfredo Cantu Gonzalez
|
|
| Born |
May 23, 1946 Edinburg, Texas |
| Died | February 4, 1968 (aged 21) Huế, South Vietnam |
| Place of burial | Hillcrest Memorial, Edinburg, Texas (26°11′02″N 98°05′10″W / 26.184°N 98.086°WCoordinates: 26°11′02″N 98°05′10″W / 26.184°N 98.086°W) |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch |
 United States Marine Corps
|
| Years of service | 1965–1968 |
| Rank |
 Sergeant |
| Unit |
1st Reconnaissance Battalion 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines 1st Battalion, 1st Marines |
| Battles/wars |
Vietnam War • Battle of Huế † |
| Awards |
Medal of Honor Purple Heart |
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.
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 in 1965. Despite his small size, weighing only 135 pounds (61 kg), 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.
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