Every Memorial Day, locals put on their red, white and blue attire, maybe don a red poppy in remembrance of the fallen, and make their way to Turlock Memorial Park cemetery. The Hilmar Community Band plays patriotic tunes and local dignitaries talk about the price of freedom. This past Monday, however, the true meaning of Memorial Day was embodied when Marsha Gonsalves spoke for the first time before a crowd about the loss of her son, Sgt. 1st Class Chad Gonsalves.
“He was a lover of life. He was a fierce defender of freedom. He was a soldier equal to what John Wayne was to a Western movie. He had a heart of gold. He was quick-witted, and yes, he was quite cocky, but he was loved dearly by all who knew him. We may have temporarily lost our oldest son, but he is just on another long deployment. I know we will be reunited one day,” she said.
Gonsalves, 31, a Special Forces weapons sergeant assigned to 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), died Feb. 13, 2006, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee north of Deh Rawod in central Afghanistan. He left behind a wife, a young son and twin infants, along with his parents and younger brother.
His awards and decorations include the Joint Service Achievement Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Armed Forces Service Medal, NATO Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, the Army Service Ribbon, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Expert Infantryman Badge, the Parachutist Badge, the Special Operations Diver Badge, the Ranger Tab and the Special Forces Tab. His posthumous awards include the Bronze Star Medal for valor, the Purple Heart and the Meritorious Service Medal.
Alongside his list of awards, Marsha Gonsalves confirmed that her son was a dedicated soldier, his military career a childhood dream come true.
“In 1982, ‘Rambo’ hit the movie screen and the preferred toys became guns and swords. ‘Rambo’ totally sucked Chad right into the world of anything military, and his dream of becoming a Green Beret was born,” she said.
Marsha Gonsalves reminisced about her son’s decision to enlist and the continuous training he underwent to finally achieve his goal of becoming a Green Beret, a member of the Army’s Special Forces. When 9-11 happened in 2001, Gonsalves told his mother that he desperately wanted to join the others who were deploying to Afghanistan to fight in this new war, but instead he was scheduled to help in an operation against a drug cartel in South America.
The last time Larry and Marsha Gonsalves saw their son was Christmas 2005. He flew home to California from North Carolina with his two infant sons for a holiday visit.
“Beautiful memories were made that Christmas that will have to sustain us until we meet in heaven someday,” said Marsha Gonsalves.
Chad Gonsalves left for Afghanistan in January 2006. On Feb. 13, 2006, he volunteered to replace a man who was ill for a mission to rescue some stranded soldiers, a mission that put his vehicle into the path of an improvised explosive device. All four of the soldiers in the Humvee died in the explosion.
Marsha Gonsalves remembers hearing the news of her son’s death and when his body was returned home.
“We will never forget the honor that was shown to our son. As a parent trying to wrap your head around the loss of a child, I will tell you, it is utterly incomprehensible. If it were not for our faith and an outpouring of love from our family, friends and this community, I have no idea how we would have navigated our way out of the seemingly endless deep, dark hole. Our gratitude is beyond measure.”
