,i #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #ceca ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,may #ba1 #bjbe ,ms4 ,de ,la ,cruz introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,financial ,services ,a ,,bill ,to posthumously award a ,congressional ,gold ,medal to ,sergeant ,alfredo ,freddy ,gonzalez1 in recognition of his heroism in the ,vietnam ,war in ,february #aifh4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,sergeant ,alfredo #8,freddy' ,gonzalez ,congressional ,gold ,medal ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,alfredo ,gonzalez was posthumously awarded the ,medal of ,honor for heroism in the ,vietnam ,war in ,february #aifh4 7#b7 ,gonzalez was born ,may #bc1 #aidf1 in ,edinburg1 ,texas4 ,he graduated from ,lamar ,grammar ,school1 #aiee1 and from ,edinburg ,high ,school1 #aife4 7#c7 ,gonzalez enlisted in the ,u4,s4 ,marine ,corps ,reserve at ,san ,antonio1 ,texas1 ,june #c1 #aife1 and was discharged to enlist as an active-duty ,marine1 ,july #f1 #aife4 7#d7 ,he completed recruit training with the #c;d ,recruit ,training ,battalion1 ,marine ,corps ,recruit ,depot1 ,san ,diego1 ,september #aife1 and individual combat training with the #b;d ,battalion1 #b;d ,infantry ,training ,regiment1 ,marine ,corps ,base1 ,camp ,pendleton1 ,california1 ,october #aife4 7#e7 ,after completing individual combat training1 he became a rifleman with ,headquarters and ,service ,company1 #ast ,reconnaissance ,battalion1 #ast ,marine ,division1 and served in that capacity until ,january #aiff4 ,following this1 he saw a one-year tour of duty as a rifleman and squadron leader with ,company ,l1 #c;d ,battalion1 #dth ,marines1 #c;d ,marine ,division4 ,he was promoted to private first class on ,jan4 #a1 #aiff1 to lance corporal on ,oct4 #a1 #aiff1 and to corporal on ,dec4 #a1 #aiff4 7#f7 ,upon returning to the ,united ,states in ,february #aifg1 he joined to #c;d ,replacement ,company1 ,staging ,battalion1 ,marine ,corps ,base1 ,camp ,pendleton1 for transfer to the ,far ,east4 7#g7 ,on ,july #a1 #aifg1 he was promoted to sergeant1 and later that month arrived in the ,republic of ,vietnam4 ,he served as a squad leader and platoon sergeant with the #c;d ,platoon1 ,company ,a1 #ast ,battalion1 #ast ,marines1 #ast ,marine ,division4 7#h7 ,while serving as platoon commander1 #c;d ,platoon1 ,company ,a1 on #ca ,january #aifh1 during the initial phase of ,operation ,hue ,city1 ,sgt4 ,gonzalez' unit was formed as a reaction force and deployed to ,hue to relieve the pressure on the beleaguered city4 ,while moving by truck convoy along ,route ,no4 #a1 near the village of ,lang ,van ,lrong1 the marines received a heavy volume of enemy fire4 ,sgt4 ,gonzalez aggressively maneuvered the marines in his platoon1 and directed their fire until the area was cleared of snipers4 ,immediately after crossing a river south of ,hue1 the column was again hit by intense enemy fire4 ,one of the marines on top of a tank was wounded and fell to the ground in an exposed position4 ,with complete disregard for his safety1 ,sgt4 ,gonzalez ran through the fire-swept area to the assistance of his injured comrade4 ,he lifted him up and though receiving fragmentation wounds during the rescue1 he carried the wounded marine to a covered position for treatment4 ,due to the increased volume and accuracy of enemy fire from a fortified machine-gun bunker on the side of the road1 the company was temporarily halted4 ,realizing the gravity of the situation1 ,sgt4 ,gonzalez exposed himself to the enemy fire and moved his platoon along the east side of a bordering rice paddy to a dike directly across from the bunker4 ,though fully aware of the danger involved1 he moved to the fire-swept road and destroyed the hostile position with hand grenades4 ,although seriously wounded again on #c ,february1 he steadfastly refused medical treatment and continued to supervise his men and lead the attack4 ,on #d ,february1 the enemy had again pinned the company down1 inflicting heavy casualties with automatic-weapons and rocket fire4 ,sgt4 ,gonzalez1 utilizing a number of light antitank assault weapons1 fearlessly moved from position to position firing numerous rounds at the heavily fortified enemy emplacements4 ,he successfully knocked out a rocket position and suppressed much of the enemy fire before falling mortally wounded4 ,the heroism1 courage1 and dynamic leadership displayed by ,sgt4 ,gonzalez reflected great credit upon himself and the ,marine ,corps and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the ,u4,s4 ,naval ,service4 ,he gallantly gave his life for his country4 7#i7 ,his complete list of medals and decorations include3 the ,medal of ,honor1 the ,purple ,heart1 the ,presidential ,unit ,citation1 the ,national ,defense ,service ,medal1 the ,vietnam ,service ,medal with two bronze stars1 the ,vietnamese ,cross of ,gallantry with star1 the ,vietnamese ,cross of ,gallantry with palm1 the ,military ,merit ,medal and the ,republic of ,vietnam ,campaign ,medal4 ,he also serves as the namesake for ,,uss ,gonzalez 7,,ddg #ff74 #c4 ,congressional gold medal 7a7 ,award authorized ,the ,speaker of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,president pro tempore of the ,senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the award1 on behalf of the ,congress1 of a gold medal of appropriate design dedicated to ,sergeant ,alfredo ,gonzalez1 in recognition of his heroism in the ,vietnam ,war in ,february #aifh4 7b7 ,design and striking ,for the purposes of the award referred to in subsection 7a71 the ,secretary of the ,treasury 7referred to in this ,act as the ,secretary7 shall strike the gold medal with suitable emblems1 devices1 and inscriptions1 to be determined by the ,secretary4 7c7 ,museum of ,south ,texas ,history ,following the award of the gold medal described in subsection 7a71 the gold medal shall be given to the ,museum of ,south ,texas ,history1 where it shall be displayed as appropriate and made available for research4 #d4 ,duplicate medals ,the ,secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medals struck under section #c1 at a price sufficient to cover the costs thereof1 including labor1 materials1 dies1 use of machinery1 and overhead expenses4 #e4 ,status of medals 7a7 ,national medals ,the medals struck under this ,act are national medals for purposes of chapter #ea of title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code4 7b7 ,numismatic items ,for purposes of sections #eacd and #eacf of title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code1 all medals struck under this ,act shall be considered to be numismatic items4 #f4 ,authority to use fund amounts2 proceeds of sale 7a7 ,authority ,to use fund amounts ,there is authorized to be charged against the ,united ,states ,mint ,public ,enterprise ,fund such amounts as may be necessary to pay for the costs of the medals struck under this ,act4 7b7 ,proceeds of sale ,amounts received from the sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section #c shall be deposited into the ,united ,states ,mint ,public ,enterprise ,fund4