BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  SCR 72
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          Date of Hearing:   August 18, 2014

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
                               Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
                  SCR 72 (Padilla) - As Introduced:  August 12, 2013

           SENATE VOTE  :   37-0
           
          SUBJECT  :  David M. Gonzales Medal of Honor World War II Memorial  
          Interchange

           SUMMARY  :  Designates a specific portion of State Route (SR) 5  
          and SR 118 in the City of Los Angeles as the "David M. Gonzales  
          Medal of Honor World War II Memorial Interchange."     
          Specifically,  this bill  :

          1)Recounts the lifetime accomplishments David M. Gonzales, a  
            father, husband, decorated World War II veteran.  

          2)Designates the interchange located at SR 5 and SR 118 in the  
            City of Los Angeles as the David M. Gonzales Medal of Honor  
            World War II Memorial Interchange.  

          3)Requests that the California Department of Transportation  
            (Caltrans) determine the cost of appropriate signs, consistent  
            with the signing requirements for the state highway system,  
            showing the special designation and, upon receiving donations  
            from non-state sources covering that cost, to erect those  
            signs.  

           EXISTING LAW  : Assigns Caltrans the responsibility of operating  
          and maintaining state highways.  This includes the installation  
          and maintenance of highway signs.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  Costs to make and erect the appropriate signs  
          are covered by donations.  

           COMMENTS  :  Mr. Gonzales was born on June 9, 1923 in East Los  
          Angeles and raised in Pacoima.  Mr. Gonzales joined the Army at  
          Fort MacArthur in 1944 and was deployed to the Philippines as an  
          infantry replacement.  

          On April 25, 1945, Mr. 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  








                                                                  SCR 72
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          men.  Mr. 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, Mr. 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, Mr.  
          Gonzales was mortally wounded by enemy fire.  The two other  
          buried soldiers were later saved when the intense enemy fire  
          subsided.  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.  

          At the time of his death, Mr. 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.  This bill designating the interchange located  
          at SR 5 and SR 115 in honor of David Gonzales acknowledges the  
          significant role Mr. Gonzales played in his community and for  
          his country.  

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :

           Support 
           
          The Honorable Tony Cardenas, Congressman 
          The Honorable Felipe Fuentes, Councilmember, City of Los Angeles
          The Honorable Dean Pregerson, U.S. District Judge
          The Honorable Harry Pregerson, U.S. District Judge 
          City of Bell
          Community Resource Talent Development 
          Foothill Family Service 
          Northeast Graffiti Busters
          Pacoima Beautiful 
          Pro Active Democrats 
          Salvation Army, Southern California Divisional Headquarters
          San Fernando Museum of Art and History 
          19 Individuals
           
            Opposition 
           
          None on file 

           








                                                                 SCR 72
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          Analysis Prepared by  :   Manny Leon / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093