Know Your Medal of Honor Recipients:
Staff Sergeant Felix M. Conde-Falcon (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on April 4, 1969, at Ap Tan Hoa, Vietnam. His citation reads:
Staff Sergeant Felix M. Conde-Falcon distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an acting Platoon Leader in Company D, 1st Battalion, 505th Infantry Regiment, 3d Brigade, 82d Airborne Division during combat operations against an armed enemy in Ap Tan Hoa, Republic of Vietnam on April 4, 1969. While entering a heavily wooded section on the route of advance, Staff Sergeant Conde-Falcon and his company encountered an extensive enemy bunker complex, later identified as a battalion command post. Following tactical artillery and air strikes on the heavily-secured enemy position, Staff Sergeant Conde-Falcon’s platoon was selected to assault and clear the bunker fortifications. Moving out ahead of his platoon, Staff Sergeant Conde-Falcon charged the first bunker, heaving grenades as he went. As the hostile fire increased, he crawled to the blind side of an entrenchment position, jumped to the roof, and tossed a grenade into the bunker aperture. Without hesitating, he proceeded to two additional bunkers, both of which he destroyed in the same manner as the first. Rejoining his platoon, Staff Sergeant Conde-Falcon advanced about one hundred meters through the trees before coming under intense hostile fire. Selecting three men to accompany him, he maneuvered toward the enemy’s flank position. Carrying a machinegun, he single-handedly assaulted the nearest fortification, killing the enemy inside before running out of ammunition. After returning to the three men with his empty weapon and taking up an M-16 rifle, he concentrated on the next bunker. Within ten meters of his goal, Staff Sergeant Conde-Falcon was shot by an unseen assailant and soon died of his wounds. Staff Sergeant Conde-Falcon’s extraordinary heroism and selflessness at the cost of his own life, above and beyond the call of duty, are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army.
Specialist Fourth Class Ardie R. Copas (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on May 12, 1970, at Ph Romeas Hek, Cambodia. His citation reads:
Specialist Four Ardie R. Copas distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a Machinegunner in Company C, 1st Battalion (Mechanized), 5th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division during combat operations against an armed enemy near Ph Romeas Hek, Cambodia on May 12, 1970. That morning, Specialist Four Copas' company was suddenly attacked by a large hostile force firing recoilless rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, and automatic weapons. As Specialist Four Copas began returning fire, his armored car was struck by an enemy recoilless round, knocking him to the ground and injuring four American Soldiers beside the vehicle. Ignoring his own wounds, Specialist Four Copas quickly remounted the burning vehicle and commenced firing his machinegun at the belligerents. Braving the hostile fire directed at him and the possible detonation of the mortar rounds inside the track, Specialist Four Copas maintained a heavy volume of suppressive fire on the foe while the wounded Americans were safely evacuated. Undaunted, Specialist Four Copas continued to place devastating volleys of fire upon the adversary until he was mortally wounded when another enemy round hit his vehicle. Specialist Four Copas' daring action resulted in the safe evacuation of his comrades. Specialist Four Copas' extraordinary heroism and selflessness at the cost of his own life, above and beyond the call of duty, are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army.
Sergeant Jesus S. Duran (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on May 12, 1970, in the Republic of Vietnam. His citation reads:
Specialist Four Jesus S. Duran distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an acting M-60 machinegunner in Company E, 2d Battalion, 5th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) during combat operations against an armed enemy in the Republic of Vietnam on April 10, 1969. That afternoon, the reconnaissance platoon was moving into an elaborate enemy bunker complex when the lead elements began taking concentrated ambush fire from every side. The command post was in imminent danger of being overrun. With an M-60 machinegun blazing from his hip, Specialist Four Duran rushed forward and assumed a defensive position near the command post. As hostile forces stormed forward, Specialist Four Duran stood tall in a cloud of dust raised by the impacting rounds and bursting grenades directed towards him and thwarted the enemy with devastating streams of machinegun fire. Learning that two seriously wounded troopers lay helplessly pinned down under harassing fire, Specialist Four Duran assaulted the suppressive enemy positions, firing deadly bursts on the run. Mounting a log, he fired directly into the enemy's foxholes, eliminating four and cutting down several others as they fled. Specialist Four Duran then continued to pour effective fire on the disorganized and fleeing enemy. Specialist Four Duran's extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army.
Today’s Pic
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| Daniel and Ethan |
We went to the Riverdogs game this past Sunday where I realized something very important: If I want to watch a baseball game, I’ll go with Dad or Jeremy. If I want to blow through a lot of money while sitting in the heat as a baseball game is being played, I’ll go with The Wife and The Kids. Having said that, it wasn’t so bad. It may have even been a little fun. The main thing that helped make it fun was I went in knowing I wasn’t going to see the game. I had hopes we wouldn’t have been sitting in the sun, but that couldn’t be helped. The main thing is that The Kids had fun, so that made me happy. It would have been nice if some of that fun had to do with watching a baseball game… but I fear that would be too much to hope for. I will say this, the Riverdogs (as an organization) are great at what they do. Sunday was “Kids Eat Free” or something like that, so each kid got a hotdog and a cup of water. As they were walking back to our seats, Daniel dropped his cup of water. I’m not 100% sure what happened, because I wasn’t with them at the time, but I guess Riverdogs Executive VP/General Manager Dave Echols (or someone who looks just like him) said don’t worry about getting back in line, just go to your seats and I’ll bring a new one. The Wife tells me this once they got back to our seats. I assume he’ll send some intern to bring the water (or something might come up and he’ll forget about the water all together)… but within a couple of minutes of them getting back to our seats, up walks Dave with a bottle of water (and I might be wrong because I wasn’t sitting by Daniel so I had trouble hearing, but I’m pretty sure he said “Here’s your water Daniel”). I’m not sure how much a bottle of water costs at a Riverdogs game (I’d guess $3-$5), but I know it’s more than the free cup of water Daniel dropped. I figured they’d just bring him another cup of water to replace the other one… but nope, they went above and beyond and brought him a bottle of water.
I thought this pitcher had a strange windup…
Mary Ruth was there with her friend, so I didn't get any pictures of her...
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