July 17, 1963 - United States Air Force Captain Condon H. Terry’s widow, Audrey, is proud of what he fought and died for. Terry, 30, was an adviser with the South Vietnamese forces fighting the Communist Viet Cong. He and his Vietnamese pilot, Le Hoai Son, were killed June 27 when ground fire downed their T-28 plane during a strafing run. There was a funeral service in South Vietnam, then the body was flown to Dallas. Terry was buried there last Friday. Audrey, 26, who was left with two sons, 5 and 8, reflected upon her husband’s death today. “He volunteered for the assignment,” she said. “He was proud to be serving America. When I waved goodbye to him at Love Field in May, I just felt it was the last time I would see him. He had told me his chances. They weren’t very good.” Her husband, she said, had lived and breathed the Air Force. “He wanted to be a test pilot or an astronaut. He just had to do something worthwhile, so he volunteered for the Vietnam assignment.” In a letter to Colonel Gerald Dix, Terry’s former wing commander at Eglin Air Force base, she summed up her feelings: “If it had to happen, this is the way Condon wanted it. Too many people in our world have forgotten what freedom is. My loss is great, but your team’s loss is greater.”
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