The legacy of a Vietnam War hero scrubbed from a government webpage remains strong in the southernmost part of Texas

By Amanda Jackson, CNN | Photographs by Gabriel V. Cárdenas for CNN
8 minute read
Updated 8:41 PM EDT, Sun April 27, 2025


Photos, uniforms and other artifacts of US Marine Corps Sgt. Alfredo “Freddy” González are part of an exhibit at the Museum of South Texas History in Edinburg, Texas. Gabriel V. Cárdenas for CNN

Edinburg, Texas (CNN) — Patriotism runs deep in this South Texas town nestled just along the border with Mexico. American flags fly outside many businesses. Pictures of veterans adorn light poles and traffic signal boxes. And a giant mural inside a popular grocery store depicts a hero you can’t help but notice: Alfredo “Freddy” González.

González was a United States Marine Corps sergeant from Edinburg, Texas, who joined the military in the late 1960s and was killed in action during the Vietnam War. In this southernmost region of Texas, known as the Rio Grande Valley, he is the namesake of a main thoroughfare, a park and an elementary school. Outside this area, his name has graced a US Navy warship for 30 years and, until recently, he had been featured among Hispanic veterans on the Naval History and Heritage Command website.

Like González’s contributions, those made by women, LGBTQ+ individuals, people of color and historical figures are at the center of the Trump administration’s purge of diversity, equity and inclusion-related content from government websites.

Some content on the Naval History and Heritage Command website has been “moved to align with Department of Defense guidance and recent Executive Orders,” a spokesperson for the command told CNN earlier this month.

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