Proposal to make Cotter Avenue also Jerry McDonald Road on city agenda

JERRY MCDONALD Port Aransas City Councilman Charles Bujan wants to add a new name to an old road to honor Jerry McDonald, the only Port Aransan killed in the Vietnam War.

Cotter Avenue would additionally be designated Jerry McDonald Memorial Road under Bujan’s proposal.

At Bujan’s request, the city council will take up the matter as a discussion item when the panel meets at 5 p.m. today, Thursday, June 18, at council chambers, 710 W. Ave. A. If a proposed resolution related to Bujan’s idea results from the meeting, it will be voted upon at another meeting in the future, according to City Manager Michael Kovacs.

Cotter Avenue was named after Ed Cotter, a former mayor of Port Aransas.

Bujan said he doesn’t want the Cotter name replaced, but to have the McDonald name assigned in addition to Cotter. Street signs still would identify the street as Cotter Avenue, but there also would be signs that call it Jerry McDonald Memorial Road, he said.

Asked if it might be confusing to have two names for the same street, Bujan said the same thing is commonly done elsewhere. As an example, he pointed out that U.S. Route 59, which runs through South Texas and up the eastern part of the state, also has been officially named Lloyd Bentsen Highway in honor of the late four-term U.S. senator from Texas and Democratic Party 1988 nominee for vice president.

McDonald was a popular young Port Aransan who was killed on March 8, 1969, two months before he was scheduled to come home from Vietnam. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal for heroism and a Purple Heart.

After McDonald’s death, a foundation in his name was established. Port Aransas schools began awarding Jerry McDonald Citizenship Awards to deserving students. A softball field on Alister Street was named for him, and the Moore-McDonald VFW Post No. 8967 also was named partly after the Vietnam vet.

Bujan was a close friend of McDonald’s as they grew up in Port Aransas together. Bujan said he chose Cotter Avenue as the place to propose city recognition for McDonald because the McDonald family once lived on that street.

“I just think he’s been a favorite son of Port Aransas for years, and there are no streets named after him or his family,” Bujan said. “There’s some private recognition as far as the ball field and the VFW and the foundation, but … the city has never done any recognition of him.”