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Updated: November 24, 2024 @ 12:30 am
Jeannie Holland, left, and Richard Conde, children of the late Staff Sgt. Felix M. Conde-Falcon, are seen n front of the Medal of Honor installation at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor which honors Conde-Falcon’s sacrifice.
Jeannie Holland, left, and Richard Conde, children of the late Staff Sgt. Felix M. Conde-Falcon, are seen n front of the Medal of Honor installation at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor which honors Conde-Falcon’s sacrifice.
The Central Texas community continues to show its respect for a local hero.
Last week, the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor announced the establishment of a Presidential Endowed Scholarship that will honor Staff Sgt. Felix M. Conde-Falcon, whose heroics during the Vietnam War posthumously earned him the Medal of Honor in 2014.
The Staff Sgt. Felix M. Conde-Falcon and Lydia Conde Medal of Honor Endowed Scholarship — the idea of representatives from the Military Officers Association of America-Central Texas, American Legion Post No. 133, and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 4008 and Post No. 10377 — will be awarded to eligible freshmen and sophomores in the ROTC program at UMHB.
“This vision has been warmly embraced by our Central Texas military community, business leaders, service organizations, and citizens who have been deeply impacted by the service and sacrifice of those who defend our nation,” Aaron Rodeffer, the director of fundraising at UMHB, said. “The story of one family’s sacrifice in service to our country has deeply resonated with our local community, and the success of this endowment is a powerful example of people coming together to support a meaningful cause.”
Last year, Rogers resident Richard Conde, the son of Conde-Falcon, spoke to that gravity.
“For 40 years of my life, I didn’t celebrate Memorial Day like I do today,” he said during a Memorial Day ceremony last year at American Legion Post. No. 133. “I thought, ‘Hey, I have a three-day weekend. We’ll go have hot dogs and ride on the lake.’”
Conde highlighted how that mindset began to change 18 years ago when he received a letter in the mail that had a red and blue ribbon around the envelope.
“I opened it up and my life changed at that moment,” he said. “That’s when, honestly, I’m back to the 3-year-old that I was on the day that my dad died, April 4, 1969.”
The letter was just two sentences.
“My name is Leslie Hayes. I was with your dad in Vietnam and I was with him the day he died. If you want to talk please call me.” — Leslie B. Hayes.
Conde took him up on his offer and gave the Hayes residence a call.
Before he knew it, they had spent approximately three hours discussing Vietnam together.
“He told me everything,” Conde, who noted how Hayes spent 36 years trying to track him down, said. “He said, ‘Your dad saved my life numerous times and not only mine but others.’ I was able to learn who my dad was from a man that I didn’t know. It’s phenomenal when you think about it.”
Dick Archer, a past president and current board member of the Military Officers Association of America-Central Texas, had the opportunity to hear that same story a few months ago when he invited Conde to speak to their members.
“At the end of the modest talk by (Conde-Falcon’s) son, I immediately asked the chapter to create a scholarship in memory of his father,” he said. “This scholarship is going to make a difference for many in the future.”
The Staff Sgt. Felix M. Conde-Falcon and Lydia Conde Medal of Honor Endowed Scholarship received $30,000 in the first three weeks of fundraising and has since accumulated an additional $90,000 after a check for $7,500 was presented during the halftime ceremony of the Crusaders football game versus Howard Payne University. It was an event Conde-Falcon’s children — Conde and Jeannie Holland — attended.
“We are grateful for this investment in UMHB’s ROTC program. Scholarships to help support young ROTC cadets are crucial for retaining and attracting students who desire to serve in the U.S. military after college,” Carl Cook, UMHB’s senior instructor of military science, said. “In addition, the new Medal of Honor display in our building will provide incredible encouragement and motivation for our students.”
The selection process for the Staff Sgt. Felix M. Conde-Falcon and Lydia Conde Medal of Honor Endowed Scholarship will begin in the spring of 2025, with the fall of 2025 as a target date for the first award, according to UMHB.
jvalley@tdtnews.com
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