GONZALEZ DDG 66
Ship Name and Designation History
This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.
Arleigh Burke Class (Flight I) Guided Missile Destroyer |
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This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).
Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.
- USS Gonzalez DDG-66 Covers Page 1 (1994-2015)
Postmarks
This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.
A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an
image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN
THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the
existing example.
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Postmark Type |
Postmark Date |
Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image |
Thumbnail Link To Cover Image |
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Locy Type |
1996-07-31 |
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First Day of Postal Service, ship's cachet serviced by Wolfgang Hechler.
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Locy Type |
1996-10-12 |
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Commissioning, cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS
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Locy Type |
1996-10-12 |
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First Day in Commission
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Locy Type |
1996-10-12 |
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First Day in Commission
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Locy Type |
2000-04-15 |
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Note:
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Locy Type |
2000-04-15 |
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Note:
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Locy Type |
2001-07-30 |
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Ship's cachet, serviced by Wolfgang Hechler
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Locy Type |
2011-09-14 |
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Postmark Survey Card, USCS Postal Survey 2011-2012.
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Locy Type |
2011-09-14 |
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Postmark Survey Card, USCS Postal Survey 2011-2012.
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Locy Type F |
2015-08-25 |
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Ship's cachet, serviced by Wolfgang Hechler. Notice the spelling of the ships name in the postmark and return address (GONZALES)
"This postmark reflects the change in the Naval Postal System and until more postmark examples are seen, they will be classified as Type F." Greg C.
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Locy Type F |
2016-01-22 |
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Ship's cachet, serviced by Kay Neuthor.
"This postmark reflects the change in the Naval Postal System and until more postmark examples are seen, they will be classified as Type F." Greg C.
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Locy Type F |
2016-01-22 |
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Ship's cachet, serviced by Kay Neuthor.
"This postmark reflects the change in the Naval Postal System and until more postmark examples are seen, they will be classified as Type F." Greg C.
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Locy Type Meter PB6 |
2016-05-14 |
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Ship's cachet, serviced by Richard Hoffner
20th Anniversary of Commissioning
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Locy Type F |
2016-10-12 |
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Ship's cachet, serviced by Elgin E. Sink. 20th Anniversary of Commissioning, cover also has a strike of the original 1996 Type F Commissioning postmark (G-48).
Other Information
NAMESAKE - Sergent Alfredo 'Freddy' Cantu Gonzalez, USMC (May 23 1946 - February 4 1968).
Gonzalez was promoted to Private First Class January 1 1966, Lance Corporal October 1 1966, and to Corporal December 1 1966. On July 1 1967 he was promoted to Sergeant, and later that month, arrived in the Republic of Vietnam. He served as Squad Leader and Platoon Sergeant with 3rd Platoon Company "A", 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein), FMF. While participating in the initial phase of Operation HUE CITY in the vicinity of Thua Thien, Vietnam, on February 4 1968, Sergeant Gonzalez was mortally wounded from hostile rocket fire.
For his actions during the Battle of Huế from January 31 to February 4, 1968, Gonzalez was awarded the Medal of Honor. Vice President Spiro T. Agnew formally presented the medal to Gonzalez's mother on October 31, 1969, during a ceremony at the White House
Sgt. Gonzalez' medals and decorations include: the Medal of Honor, the Purple Heart, the Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with four campaign stars, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry Medal with palm, the Vietnam Military Merit Medal, the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal and the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor.
The ships sponsor is Dolia Gonzalez, Sgt. Freddy Gonzalez' mother.
If you have images or information to add to this page, then either contact the Curator or edit this page yourself and add it. See Editing Ship Pages for detailed information on editing this page.
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