WEATHER ALERT
Courtney Friedman, Anchor/Reporter
Sal Salazar, Photojournalist
Published: 
Courtney Friedman, Anchor/Reporter
Sal Salazar, Photojournalist
SAN ANTONIO – Memorial High School senior Julian Gallardo attended the 37th Annual Memorial Day Remembrance Ceremony held Monday by Edgewood ISD and Compadres for Scholarships.
“We are here to remember our fallen comrades from high school that died during the Vietnam War, and that was the Class of 1967,” Edgewood ISD alumnus Edward Contreras said.
Edgewood Independent School District has the most Latino American casualties from the Vietnam War, which can make the Memorial Day holiday especially heavy for the area.
KSAT 12 put together an hourlong special in April on the 50th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon and its local connections to San Antonio.
Contreras is also a board member for a nonprofit called Compadres for Scholarships, which gives those awards to deserving kids in the district with big dreams.
“The Compadres (for Scholarships) is one of the largest scholarship recipient organizations in San Antonio,” Contreras said. “We get about $4,000 for a four-year degree and $2,000 for a two-year degree.”
Passing out those scholarships at the Memorial Day event was meant to inspire the next generation.
“This scholarship really will help me with my education in criminology,” Kennedy High School senior Alba Campos said.
Campos doesn’t know if she would have attended college without the scholarship.
“This is a very low-income community, and I always want to show my sibling that you can do more than what there is, just to be here,” Campos said. “And also my parents. I wanted to just show them and make them proud of who I am and what I’ve always inspired to be.”
Campos said she is doing so in the bravest way by joining the military.
“I enlisted in the Army National Guard,” Campos said.
It gives her a brand new appreciation for Memorial Day.
“See what people have really sacrificed in their lives. Seeing family members of others that have sacrificed deeply for our country,” Campos said.
“Pay tribute,” Gallardo said. “Any way you can pay back to our veterans or the fallen.”
Gallardo also won a Compadres scholarship.
“I’m going to major in computer science and cybersecurity tracking,” Gallardo said. “The scholarship will honestly help me a lot in many ways — in buying books, the tuition, maybe the housing, as well.”
The students not only expressed how grateful they are for their college futures but also for the freedom to pursue their dreams in a land marked by heroic sacrifices.
“Today was pretty beautiful,” Gallardo said. “The wind — it made it way better because it moved the flags in, like, a lovely way. And the singing and the band.”
More local education coverage on KSAT:
Copyright 2025 by KSAT – All rights reserved.
Courtney Friedman joined KSAT 12 News in August 2014 and now anchors the News at Noon weekdays, and reports important community stories. Her reporting often takes on issues including domestic violence, trafficking, foster care, homelessness and suicide awareness. She has an ongoing series called Loving in Fear.
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Sal Salazar is a photojournalist at KSAT 12. Before coming to KSAT in 1998, he worked at the Fox affiliate in San Antonio. Sal started off his career back in 1995 for the ABC Affiliate in Lubbock and has covered many high-profile news events since. In his free time, he enjoys spending time at home, gaming and loves traveling with his wife.
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