Ozone Park soldier was a hero

BY CLAUDIA CRUZ

Wednesday, November 4, 2009 1:17 PM EST

He’ll never see his son grow into a man.

Staff Sergeant Luis M. Gonzalez of South Ozone Park died after the vehicle in which he and six other soldiers were traveling in was hit with an improvised explosive device (IED) on Tuesday, October 27 in Arghandab Valley, Afghanistan, according to the Department of Defense (DOD).

President Barack Obama honored the squad leader and the other soldiers killed in Afghanistan in the early morning hours of Thursday, October 29. He saluted their flag-draped caskets at Dover Air Force Base.

“President Obama’s presence at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to honor Staff Sergeant Gonzalez and 17 other fallen American soldiers on Thursday was a tribute that represented many,” Queens Borough President Helen Marshall said in a statement. “His [Gonzalez’s] death in the line of duty while leading his squad on a patrol in southern Afghanistan defines the word ‘hero’ and leaves us with a debt that we can never repay.”

A Corona native, he is survived by his wife Jessica, also a soldier in the Army, and five-year-old son, according to news reports.

Deployed twice before to Iraq, during his second tour in 2007 Gonzalez provided security for high-level diplomats, military leaders and reporters at one point in Mosul, reported Stars & Stripes, a U.S. military independent news source, who photographed the soldier at work.

The 27-year-old, highly decorated recipient of 23 medals and citations – one of which was the Bronze Star – had been assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Washington State. The brigade deployed to Afghanistan in July of this year.

Killed alongside Gonzalez were Sergeant Fernando Delarosa, 24, of Alamo, Texas; Sergeant Dale R. Griffin, 29, of Terre Haute, Indiana; Sergeant Issac B. Jackson, 27, of Plattsburg, Missouri; Sergeant Patrick O. Williamson, 24, of Broussard, Louisiana; Specialist Jared D. Stanker, 22, of Evergreen Park, Illinois; and Private First Class Christopher I. Walz, 25, of Vancouver, Washington.

Gonzalez’ Stryker Brigade has lost 26 soldiers since July 2009, said a Fort Lewis spokesperson. According to DOD press releases, Gonzalez’ death brought the number of American soldiers killed in Afghanistan in October to 55, marking the highest number since August – when it reached 51 – around the time of the Afghani presidential elections.

“We mourn the death of Staff Sergeant Gonzalez along with his family, friends and colleagues, as once again the war comes home to Queens,” said Marshall.