World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseHarold Gonsalves was born in Alameda, California, United States in 1926 to father John Gonsalves, son of Portuguese immigrants, and mother Anna Cambra, whose ancestors had also originated from Portugal some generations before her. He completed two years of high school before quitting his studies, first taking on a job at the Montgomery Ward department store in Oakland, California, then joining the US Marine Corps in May 1943. He completed recruit training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, California, and then volunteered for Marine Raiders training at Camp Pendleton, California. After three weeks, he was transferred to the artillery unit at Pendleton. In the fall of 1943, he was assigned to the 30th Replacement Battalion. He departed the United States in Nov 1943, and was assigned to the 2nd Pack Howitzer Battalion in the US Territory of Hawaii. In Mar 1944, he was promoted to the rank of private first class. In May 1944, he was assigned to the 22nd Marine Regiment, with which unit he saw combat at in the Marshall Islands and then at Guam. In Nov 1944, he was assigned to Battery L, 4th Battalion, 15th Marine Regiment, 6th Marine Division, which which unit he was sent to Okinawa, Japan, landing on the first day of the invasion on 1 Apr 1945. On 15 Apr 1945, he was among eight Marines sent to the front lines to direct artillery fire on Motobu Peninsula. The junior officer in charge took Gonsalves and another Marine ahead to get a better look at the Japanese position, and the group was noticed by the Japanese and was fired upon. A Japanese grenade was thrown in their midst, and without hesitation, Gonsalves dove onto the grenade, which detonated and killed him. The other two Marines were unharmed by the detonation, and successfully relayed the Japanese position for American artillery to attack. His self-sacrifice earned him the Medal of Honor, the highest American military award, posthumously. US President Harry Truman presented the medal to his sister, Marie Gonsalves, in the presence of his parents, at the US Navy Building in San Francisco, California in 1946. Gonsalves's remains were buried at the Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, California in 1949 with full military honors.

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Harold Gonsalves Timeline