David Gonzales, the Son

The interchange connecting the Interstate 5 and 118 Ronald Reagan freeways has been named in honor of former Pacoima resident and Medal of Honor awardee David Gonzales. An Army Pfc., Gonzales was pinned down with his infantry company  along the Villa Verde Trail in the Philippines on April, 25, 1945. A bomb had smashed the company’s perimeter, killing five men, and Gonzales grabbed an entrenching tool and crawled to his comrades under a hail bullets. He extracted two soldiers and was freeing a third when he was mortally wounded. His son, David Gonzales, shows the medal of honor presented to his father during the recent ceremony of naming the freeway interchange.