Mother greets Navy ship named for her Vietnam-hero son

By Kate Wiltrout
The Virginian-Pilot
© August 19, 2008

NORFOLK

Dolia Gonzalez never got to welcome her only son home.

Marine Sgt. Alfredo "Freddy" Gonzalez died on Feb. 4, 1968, from wounds suffered during the Battle of Hue City in Vietnam and later received the Medal of Honor.

On Monday, his mother welcomed home more than 275 sailors. They serve on the destroyer named in her son's honor. The Gonzalez, nicknamed "Fighting Freddy," returned from a six-month deployment conducting NATO maritime security operations in the Mediterranean. The frigate Nicholas also arrived home Monday.

Dolia, petite, with gray hair and olive skin, traveled all the way from her hometown of Edinburg, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley, for the homecoming. She said it was the perfect way to spend her 79th birthday.

"They're just like my kids," she said. "They're my family."

As Dolia stood on the pier waiting for her sailors to disembark, they lined up on the deck and sang "Happy Birthday" before presenting her with a framed flag.

"This is your ship and we have a duty to make you proud," Cmdr. Brian Fort said. "We embody your values of strength and honor, ma'am.... I hope we did OK."

Dolia then joined sailors and their families in the galley, dubbed "Dolia's Diner," for birthday cake.

She said it felt like her son was finally home: "He's here today."

Kathy Adams, (757) 446-2583, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com

COMMENTS ADVISORY: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here; comments do not reflect the views of The Virginian-Pilot or its websites. Users must follow agreed-upon rules: Be civil, be clean, be on topic; don't attack private individuals, other users or classes of people. Read the full rules here.
- Comments are automatically checked for inappropriate language, but readers might find some comments offensive or inaccurate. If you believe a comment violates our rules, click the report violation link below it.

Kathy Adams - A wonderful piece of work -

Submitted by cigim94543 on Tue, 08/19/2008 at 12:33 pm.

You did good. Marvelous piece of history and devotion. You conveyed that so well. Thank you. I'm sending a copy to my brother who survived that attack and resides to this day at Fitzsimmons Army Hospital Denver, Colo. - It will mean very much to he and his compatriots.

Semper Fi, Freddy, and Bravo Zulu to the Gonzalez crew...

Submitted by johnl20927 on Tue, 08/19/2008 at 11:04 am.

...for this fitting honor of a true American hero and his mom. Just look at the ship, the sailors manning the rail, the line handlers on the pier and you can see that America continues to have a bright future despite what all its spineless critics say.