BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: SCR 72
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: padilla
VERSION: 9/12/13
Analysis by: Erin Riches FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: April 29, 2014
SUBJECT:
David M. Gonzales Medal of Honor World War II Memorial
Interchange
DESCRIPTION:
This resolution names the interchange of Highway 5 and Highway
118 in the City of Los Angeles as the David M. Gonzales Medal of
Honor World War II Memorial Interchange.
ANALYSIS:
The committee has adopted a policy regarding the naming of state
highways or structures. Under the policy, the committee will
consider only those resolutions that meet all of the following
criteria:
The person being honored must have provided extraordinary
public service or some exemplary contribution to the public
good and have a connection to the community where the highway
or structure is located.
The person being honored must be deceased.
The naming must be done without cost to the state. Costs for
signs and plaques must be paid by local or private sources.
The author or co-author of the resolution must represent the
district in which the facility is located, and the resolution
must identify the specific highway segment or structure being
named.
The segment of highway being named must not exceed five miles
in length.
The proposed designation must reflect a community consensus
and be without local opposition.
SCR 72 (PADILLA) Page 2
The proposed designation may not supersede an existing
designation unless the sponsor can document that a good-faith
effort has uncovered no opposition to rescinding the prior
designation.
This resolution designates the interchange of Highway 5 and
Highway 118 in the City of Los Angeles as the David M. Gonzales
Medal of Honor World War II Memorial Interchange. The
resolution further requests that the Department of
Transportation erect appropriate signs upon receiving donations
from non-state sources to cover the costs.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose . The author introduced this resolution to honor the
life and service of Private First Class (PFC) David M.
Gonzales.
2.Background on PFC Gonzales . PFC David Gonzales was born on
June 9, 1923 in East Los Angeles and raised in Pacoima. PFC
Gonzales joined the Army at Fort MacArthur in 1944 and was
deployed to the Philippines as an infantry replacement.
On April 25, 1945, PFC Gonzales and his unit, Company A, 127th
Infantry, 32nd Division, were pinned down by enemy fire. A
500-pound bomb exploded in the company's perimeter, burying
five men. PFC Gonzales seized an entrenching tool and crawled
15 yards under enemy fire to his buried comrades. His
commanding officer, who also rushed forward to help, was
instantly killed by machine gun fire. Undeterred, PFC
Gonzales began to dig out the five trapped men. After freeing
one of the buried men, he risked his own safety further by
standing up in order to dig faster. As he finished freeing
the third trapped comrade, PFC Gonzales was mortally wounded
by enemy fire. The two other buried soldiers were later saved
when the intense enemy fire subsided.
PFC Gonzales was survived by his then-25-year-old widow, Mrs.
Steffanie Gonzales, his one-year-old son, David Gonzales, Jr.,
and his mother, Rita Gonzales Duarte.
In 1945, President Harry S. Truman awarded PFC Gonzales the
Medal of Honor, making him the first Los Angeles County
resident to receive a Congressional Medal of Honor for service
during World War II. In 2002, at a Veterans Day ceremony at
Los Angeles Mission College, Congressman Howard Berman
SCR 72 (PADILLA) Page 3
presented the family with a number of additional military
decorations, including the Purple Heart, which were earned by
PFC Gonzales but had never been given to his relatives.
3.Consistent with committee policy . This resolution is
consistent with the provisions of the committee's policy on
highway designations.
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday, April 23,
2014.)
SUPPORT: Community Resource Talent Development
Gaimes Fitness Company
OPPOSED: None received.