U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Dan Gonzalez doesn’t think the three tours of duty he served in Afghanistan were too many.
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“It’s the reason why I joined — to serve my country,” Gonzalez said. “I didn’t want to do anything else.”
But after four years in the Marines, Gonzalez, 22, is ready to enter civilian life with an eye toward his future. Friends, family and others celebrated his homecoming Saturday with an escort to and a party at his Orland Park home.
Gonzalez plans to enroll in August as a full-time student at Moraine Valley Community College. The 2010 Sandburg High School graduate said he probably will study law enforcement. In the meantime, he is looking for work in the security field somewhere in the Chicago area.
Gonzalez, who recently was promoted to corporal on his last day of service, said he is “done” with the military and feels “absolutely” prepared for life as a civilian.
Compared to the service, “everything’s easy,” he said. “I’m sleeping in every day.”
Gonzalez’s parents, Luis and Jeannette, are breathing a sigh of relief now that their youngest son has made it home safely.
“We’re both extremely proud of him,” Luis said. “We’re just ecstatic that this is really over with. It’s been a long four years.”
Luis said his son was “following in his big brother’s footsteps.” The Gonzalezes’ older son, Louis, 27, also served as a Marine, he said.
Jeannette said she feels “relief” about her son’s return.
“(I was) all the time worried, not only for myself … but for other parents as well and what they were going through,” she said.
A weekend celebration helped push all of the days of anxiety into the past for the Gonzalez family.
While Luis and Jeannette openly planned a party for Dan’s return, they kept the “welcome home” escort for returning military a secret.
On the pretext that he was needed to transport food for the party to the house, Gonzalez was whisked off to Palos Country Club, where he was greeted by a parking lot full of well-wishers — family, friends, community services, and members of the Soldiers Guardian Angels and Warriors’ Watch Riders — who escorted him home to a flag line that included members of Orland/Palos VFW Post No. 2604.
Gonzalez thanked all who came to celebrate his return, especially the veterans.
“You served before me,” Gonzalez said. “I just want to thank you.”
It wasn’t Gonzalez’s first “welcome home” escort, but it was his last. A friend from the service, Cpl. Zach Stanley, of Ohio, who was with Gonzalez on all three tours of duty in Afghanistan, was there for Saturday’s celebration as well.
“I wanted him to see what a real family party was like,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez said he would not hesitate to encourage other young men to join the service.
Although he said the repetitive nature of his military duty and the length of time he was away from home were the most difficult to deal with, Gonzalez said he felt “mentally, emotionally and physically” prepared for military service.
“I would recommend it,” Gonzalez said. “Fighting for your country is the most honorable thing I can think of. It’s something you’re never going to forget.”
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