150 Residents Tell Panel They Want Pacoima Park Renamed to Honor Hero

About 150 Pacoima residents Thursday night enthusiastically endorsed renaming a neighborhood park in honor of David M. Gonzales, a local World War II hero.

Several Pacoima residents and members of Gonzales’ family have asked the Los Angeles Parks and Recreation Commission to rename the Pacoima Recreation Center for the soldier, the first Los Angeles resident to receive the Medal of Honor during the war.

“We want the young Latinos who live in Pacoima to have a role model,” said Francisco Flores, 32, a Pacoima native who has led the drive to rename the center.

Speaker after speaker praised Gonzales at a meeting held by Parks and Recreation Department officials who said they were seeking community input on renaming the park at 10943 Herrick Ave.

“I’m awed by the support of this community for this project,” said parks Commissioner Dean Pregerson. “You have my vote.”

Gonzales already has a facility named for him--Camp David M. Gonzales, a Los Angeles County probation camp for juvenile offenders in the Santa Monica Mountains above Calabasas.

Gonzales saved the lives of three companions who had been buried by debris after a bomb attack before he was killed by enemy bullets at the age of 21 in April, 1945, during the battle for the Philippines.

Some residents said they do not want Pacoima’s name taken off the park. Flores said he and his supporters--including Gonzales’ son, David M. Gonzales Jr.--already have agreed to the joint name of the David M. Gonzales/Pacoima Recreation Center.

Councilman Ernani Bernardi, who represents Pacoima, has taken no stand on the issue. Bernardi will support the parks commission’s decision on the matter, a spokesman said.

Several members of the Pacoima Old-Timers, a group of longtime residents, said many people already believed the park was named in honor of Gonzales. They recalled that 40 years ago, when the park opened, it was dedicated to the war hero.

A small, weathered plaque on a building near the center’s entrance commemorates the park’s dedication to Gonzales. But a sign above the plaque reads in large letters “Pacoima Recreation Center,” the park’s official name.

The Gonzales name got lost in the shuffle somehow, Flores said.

The full Recreation and Parks Department will consider the park’s renaming within the next two months.