BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SCR 72|
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CONSENT
Bill No: SCR 72
Author: Padilla (D), et al.
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 10-0, 8/5/14
AYES: DeSaulnier, Beall, Cannella, Galgiani, Hueso, Lara, Liu,
Pavley, Roth, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Gaines
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : David M. Gonzales Medal of Honor World War II
Memorial
Interchange
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : 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 : 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
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SCR 72
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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 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.
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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/11/12)
American Legion Post 176
City of Bell
Community Resource Talent Development
Congressman Tony Cardenas
Foothill Family Services
Gaims Fitness Company
Judge Dean D. Pregerson, United States District Court for the
Central District of California
Judge Harry Pregerson, 1st Lieutenant, USMC, WWII, United States
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SCR 72
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Court of
Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Los Angeles Councilmember Felipe Fuentes, 7th District
Northeast Graffiti Busters
Pacoima Beautiful
Pro-Active Democrats
Salvation Army Southern California Division
San Fernando Valley Veterans Day Parade
JA:nl 8/12/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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