Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008

Newman soldier killed in Iraq

Family left decorations up so son would have holiday

NEWMAN -- Marylynn Gonzales has not taken down her Christmas decorations.

Her son, 20-year-old Army Spc. Tony Jerold Gonzales, was supposed to be home in two weeks after spending about eight months in Iraq.

His mom didn't want her son to miss the holidays, so the Christmas tree, the red bows and the holiday lights were staying up until "T.J." came home.

Gonzales was in an Army Humvee on Sunday when an improvised explosive device detonated near the vehicle in Sadr City, his family and the Defense Department said. Gonzales was killed in the attack.

"I wanted the Christmas decorations to be up for when he came home," his mother said while looking at the Christmas tree in her living room. "Now, I just can't seem to take them down because of what happened."

Gonzales is the 25th soldier or Marine from the Northern San Joaquin Valley or foothills to be killed in Iraq or Afghanistan.

On Tuesday afternoon, the family was working on scheduling funeral services for Gonzales. His family gathered in the living room to remember him: a son, a baby brother and a fallen soldier.

"He wanted to go there to help out his country," said Tammy Runzel, 27, one of his three sisters. "He had such a great attitude while he was over there. He was proud of what he was doing."

The youngest of four children, Gonzales went along with almost anything his older sisters wanted him to do, the sisters said. When he was about 8 years old, he would play dress-up with them or would let them tie him to his dad's desk chair and spin him around.

"Until he got bigger than us, he couldn't do anything about it," Runzel said while laughing with her sisters, Megan People, 25, and Shaula Grijalva, 28, and remembering their brother.

A perfect gentleman

Despite the playful childhood hazing, the sisters said their little brother grew up to become a perfect gentleman. They said he always reached to open a door for a lady and always grabbed the dinner check, even when his sisters helped him pay the tab.

He attended Orestimba High School in Newman briefly, but the regular classroom setting just didn't work for him, his mom said. He enrolled in an independent studies program at Freedom Alternative High School in Turlock. He did his schoolwork at home and graduated with a diploma in 2006.

Shortly after his 18th birthday, Gonzales enlisted in the Army and went to boot camp at Fort Knox, Ky., where he also went through tank training. He became an M1A1 Abrams Tank driver.

He also trained to operate unmanned aircraft for the Army but spent most of his time in Iraq on foot patrol and guard duty, his family said.

Hoped for police career

While Gonzales was in Iraq, he used phone calls, e-mails and My Space messages to keep in touch with his parents, his sisters and his girlfriend, Deserae Wakefield. He never spoke with them about military operations and used the time to catch up with the life at home.

Gonzales had hoped to soak up skills in the military he could use in a law enforcement career, said Matthew Clark, father of David Clark, one of Gonzales' best friends.

"He always wanted to be a police officer. He was very involved in the Police Explorers (program with Newman police)," Clark said. "Anytime you saw him downtown, he had that police officer swagger."

He wanted to be just like his dad, Tony Gonzales, 53, who retired after working 26 years for the Los Gatos police.

That was his plan: finish his service with the Army and come back to join the Los Gatos Police Department. But his father said he had a premonition as his son left for his first tour of duty in Iraq.

"As he got on that plane at the Modesto Airport, I just had a feeling he wasn't coming back," his father said.

Bad dreams become reality

While his son was in Iraq, he said, he had two bad dreams in which two military officials came to his front door to tell him his son had died. The bad dreams became a reality when two Army officials knocked on the front door of the family home at 8:45 p.m. Sunday.

"I'll always remember that exact time," he said. "It was something I dreaded. If I could've barricaded the front door, I would have."

On his MySpace page, Gonzales listed his mood as "anxious" and was counting the days until he returned to Newman for some rest and recuperation. He also posted on the Web page a Bible passage: "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps."

Gonzales had Bible passages about strength and courage tattooed on his right arm, his family said.

Grijalva said her brother is in a better place, one without war. "He went home," she said. "He just didn't go to the home he wanted."

Bee staff writer Michelle Hatfield contributed to this report.

Bee staff writer Rosalio Ahumada can be reached at rahumada@modbee.com or 578-2394.