A National Guard sergeant in the Hudson Valley has been awarded New York’s most prestigious military award and with it came the governor’s congratulations.
New York Army National Guard Sergeant Martin Gonzalez was awarded the New York State Medal of Valor, the state’s most prestigious military award. The award recognizes Gonzalez’s actions in his civilian role as a police officer in the Sullivan County Village of Liberty Police Department in October 2011. That’s when a gas station under construction collapsed on two workers. Gonzalez and two other Liberty police officers responded. According to his citation, Gonzalez not only entered the building without any thought for his own safety, but stayed inside the building after emergency medical personnel arrived. Gonzalez received the award over the weekend at Camp Smith, the National Guard training center near Peekskill. Gonzalez now serves in the Fallsburg Police Department, also in Sullivan County.