U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Fred Sonaggera Memorial Bridge

The memorial bridge is a 2-lane concrete and steel span along Oklahoma State Highway 128, across a creek south and east of Heavener. Second Lieutenant Freddie Leon “Fred” Sonaggera died, at age 24, of wounds on April 17, 1968, while serving his country in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. He was a 1961 graduate of Heavener High School, and Northeastern State College in Tahlequah, Oklahoma in 1966. He enlisted in the United States Army, took Basic Training at Fort Dix at Wrightstown, New Jersey, and applied and was selected for officer training. Upon his graduation from Officer Candidate School (OCS) at Fort Benning at Columbus, Georgia, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Infantry Branch. He deployed overseas and arrived in South Vietnam to begin his tour of duty on February 14, 1968. He served in combat with the Reconnaissance Platoon, Company E, 1st Battalion, 46th Infantry Regiment “The Professionals,” 198th Light Infantry Brigade, 23rd Infantry “Americal” Division, United States Army Vietnam (USARV). He participated in the Tet Counteroffensive, and Counteroffensive Phase IV campaigns. 2LT Sonaggera was wounded in action on April 12, 1968, during Operation Burlington Trail at the Que Son Valley, on the northern border of Quang Tin Province, in the northern region (I Corps Tactical Zone), some 14 miles northwest of Tam Ky, when a grenade exploded near his position. He was medically evacuated but died of multiple fragmentation wounds five days later. The operation resulted in 1931 enemy killed and 212 allied killed. He was one of the 47,434, American battle-related deaths during the war. Lieutenant Sonaggera was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Silver Star for gallantry in combat action against the enemy, Purple Heart for wounds received in battle, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with 2 Bronze Service Stars, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, and the blue Infantry Shoulder Cord. He is also authorized the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Bronze Palm. The memorial was designated on May 11, 2009. (Note: The 46th Infantry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia is a blue shield with top pointed edges, a gold flaming torch with gold star above, and a white field in the upper left with a blue Roman numeral “X” superimposed on a sheathed gold Roman sword, point down. The blue is the infantry color; the gold torch and star is taken from the State of Indiana, where the Regiment was organized in 1917; and the numeral and sword alludes to the 10th Infantry from which personnel were originally taken to form the 46th Infantry. The insignia was approved on October 28, 1953.) (Note: The 198th Light Infantry Brigade shoulder sleeve insignia (patch) is a blue shield, bordered white, with a white bayonet fixed to a white rifle barrel, on a stylized red trailing tongue of flame, bordered yellow. The blue and white are infantry colors; the flame represents the firepower of the unit; and the fixed bayonet symbolizes the spirit of aggressiveness in battle and the will to take the fight to the enemy.) (Note: The 23rd Infantry “Americal” Division shoulder sleeve insignia (patch) is a blue shield with 4 white stars. Blue is the infantry color; the 4 white stars represent the Southern Cross Constellation configuration, under which the Division served, and also the 4 campaigns the Division participated in during World War II in the Pacific Theater. The “Americal” nickname is a contraction of “American” and “New Caledonian” and refers to the formation of the unit and initial combat assignment to defend New Caledonia in WWII. The insignia shown was approved on November 4, 1954.)