County votes to name street after Iraq veteran

BROWNSVILLE - A three year battle has ended for U.S. Army widow Elisa E. Perez. 

A street will finally bear the name of her late husband Sgt. Hector R. Perez. 

Cameron County Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved renaming the 230 Road in Barreda Gardens in honor of the fallen U.S. Army sergeant.

 Known as "Sgt. P" by his fellow soldiers, Sgt. Hector Perez was killed July 24, 2003, in Al Hawada, just south of Mosul, Iraq. He served with the 101st Airborne Division's Company A, 1 Battalion, 327th Infantry.

 He was the recipient of a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star, two of the military's highest honors. 

A street sign unveiling is set for July 24, five years after Sgt. Perez was killed in the line of duty.

 During Tuesday's meeting, Elisa Perez accepted the renaming and said, "With great happiness, I finally see this come to an end. I've worked on this for many years." 

Elisa Perez has been pushing to get a street or road named after her husband for three years, knocking on several doors that closed on her, she said. She had appealed to county, state and city leaders with little success. 

She was promised an answer from the city last year, but never received one, she said. 

"I've learned not to back down... Hector was not a politician," Elisa Perez said. "He was a true soldier, and that's what he was. He's a hero in our family, and I hope that we can honor our soldiers a little bit more than what we've done in the past."

 State Rep. Eddie Lucio III, D-San Benito, who assisted Perez in her quest with county officials, said "this is just a small token of our appreciation. We can never replace Sgt. Perez and what he meant to his family. We can show his daughters that we do care." 

Lucio had worked with the county judge and the county staff to get a street named after Sgt. Perez. 

"They are my heroes," Elisa Perez said of Lucio and Ruben O'Bell, Lucio's legislative assistant. 

In a previous interview, Elisa Perez, the mother of three, said the street will not only represent her husband, but other veterans still fighting, returning from war or who have died in combat. 

The 230 Road is located just north of Brownsville off Barreda Road and 239 Road, which is the county's jurisdiction. It's a short road surrounded by grassy fields.

 Four families reside on 230 Road and said they didn't have a problem with it being renamed, Precinct 2 Commissioner John Wood said. 

Residents Carlos J. Gonzalez and Gracie Gonzalez, who live on the road, said they were concerned with small details such as a change of address on bills and other documents but are proud to have the road renamed after Sgt. Perez. 

"I can empathize how Ms. Perez feels. I said ‘God, yes by all means,' (when asked by Wood if the street could be renamed)", said Carlos Gonzalez, who is a Vietnam veteran. "I said I would be honored."