City Council Honors Mexican American Pilot

The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday honored a highly decorated World War II pilot whose portrait will become the first Mexican American’s to be displayed in the Air Force’s national gallery.

Highland Park resident Arturo Gonzalez, who appeared before the council in a wheelchair, with a patch over one eye, said he did not feel like a hero.

“The heroes are ones that never came home,” he said, his voice breaking.

Gonzalez received the prestigious Flying Cross medal and more than a dozen other decorations. As a young man, he learned to fly biplanes but graduated to P-40 Flying Tigers and P-51 Mustangs during the war.

Gonzalez grew up in Oxnard and learned to speak Japanese from some of his neighbors. In May, 1944, he was shot down on a mission over northern Burma. Gonzalez was held prisoner for about a month until he was rescued by commandos from the Office of Strategic Services who feared the Japanese might treat him as a spy if they discovered he knew their language.

Councilman Mike Hernandez introduced the retired lieutenant colonel to the council and presented him with a plaque. Gonzalez’s portrait will be shipped to Washington, D.C., where it will become part of the Air Force’s permanent collection.