Carrollton is preparing to honor one of its local heroes. Two public memorial events are scheduled to pay tribute to Army Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, a 19-year-old native of Carrollton and a graduate of Hebron High School. She was tragically killed earlier this month in an Iranian attack on a U.S. base in Jordan.
The events will take place on Saturday, August 1, and will include a motorcycle honor ride followed by a vigil at a church in North Texas.
The day will begin with an honor ride kicking off with “kickstands up” at 11 a.m. at Maverick Harley-Davidson on N. I-35E, where riders — expected to include veterans, active service members — will gather before setting out together in Gonzales’ memory.
The ride will be followed that afternoon by a memorial service at 6 p.m. at Prestonwood Baptist Church. The memorial service will also be livestreamed via Prestonwood Baptist Church’s website.
The two tributes are the latest chapter in a difficult period of mourning for the community. Gonzales, assigned to the 1st Battalion, 57th Air Defense Artillery Regiment in Ansbach, Germany, was killed July 17 in an enemy strike at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base. As The Dallas Express previously reported, Gonzales was one of two American soldiers killed in the attack, alongside 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan of Hawaii, with family notification completed before the Pentagon’s public release.
In the days since, Carrollton has repeatedly turned out to honor her memory. At a City Council meeting shortly after her death was confirmed, Mayor Steve Babick, council members and residents gathered for a tribute that ended with a bugler playing “Taps.” Babick told the room that Gonzales couldn’t have known when she enlisted that she’d become a hero through her death, but that “she answered the call.”
Councilwoman Daisy Palomo also offered condolences to the Gonzales family, while American Legion Post 597 commander John Norsworthy — who lives less than a quarter mile from the family and whose son attended Hebron High School alongside Gonzales — spoke about why her loss has hit the city so hard.
In the Gonzales family’s own neighborhood, a homemade memorial has sprung up along a backyard fence, where neighbors have hung dozens of American flags beneath a hand-painted banner reading a tribute to her sacrifice.
“It hits home,” John Jun, the homeowner who made the banner, told NBC DFW. “This could happen to any parent that has a child in the military.”
City leaders have said the August 1 events are meant to give the entire community — not just those who knew Gonzales personally — a formal opportunity to grieve together before her funeral, which is expected to follow with full military honors. Carrollton officials have also said that a permanent memorial to Gonzales is being planned within the city, though details on its location and design have not yet been finalized.
For a city of Carrollton’s size, the loss of a soldier so young — and so recently a student walking the halls of Hebron High — has resonated well beyond her immediate family and friends. Lewisville ISD, which includes Hebron High, said in a statement that Gonzales’ decision to serve after graduation “speaks volumes of her character” and that her memory would “always have a home” in the district.
The ride is being organized by Maverick H.O.G. (Harley Owners Group), with registration open from 9 to 10:30 a.m. ahead of an 11 a.m. kickstands-up departure. Riders will cruise from Maverick Harley-Davidson up Josey Lane to Hebron High School — Gonzales’ alma mater — before returning via Old Denton Road back to the dealership. Proceeds from the ride will benefit the Carrollton American Legion’s support of the Gonzales family, and an after-ride gathering at Maverick Harley-Davidson, located at 1845 N. Interstate 35E, will follow with music and food and drinks available for purchase starting at noon.
RSVPs for the ride are currently open via the Maverick Harley-Davidson website.
Gonzales is expected to be laid to rest at DFW National Cemetery. The Dallas Express will continue to provide updates on funeral arrangements and memorial plans for Pvt. Isabella Gonzales as they are announced.
Provided by Dallas Express
