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The Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs does not endorse the organizations sponsoring these events, and we do not endorse the views they express or the products/services they offer. The views and opinions expressed in any referenced document do not necessarily state or reflect those of MDVA. The information provided is intended for your general knowledge only, and serves solely as a MDVA community outreach effort.
 Secretary Woods speaks to the Frederick County Community Veterans Engagement Board Meeting.
Community Calendar
December 19, 2023
Arundel Lodge Operation Sleigh Ride for Veterans and their families, Edgewater
Community News
Honoring Maryland's Hidden Heroes: Holiday Spectacular at Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
The Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs is proud to partner with The Elizabeth Dole Foundation and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for a special holiday concert honoring Maryland’s Hidden Heroes and Hidden Helpers. Join us and other military caregiving families for the Holiday Spectacular running on Dec. 22-23! Sign up for complimentary tickets below. Once the form is completed, you will be directed to a promo link on the Baltimore Orchestra Symphony's website where you can select seats and receive complimentary tickets. *Limited spots, first-come, first-served basis. Parking will not be covered but will be a discounted rate of $5.
Registration Link
Mission Beelieve's Intro Course is opening for the Spring of 2024.The course will be held virtually through Zoom every Tuesdays from 7p-9:30p (Eastern Standard Time and the last 30min are for Q&A) beginning 02/12/2024 and ending 03/18/2024. Down Below is the link for early registration. If you already participated, but want sign up again. Register again, the class is available to retake as many times as you'd like. Register
Pilot, Prisoner, Soldier, Spy
Here is the second installment of the story of Colonel Arthur Shreve, written by his granddaughter, Heather Shreve.
Part II : Chief of Artillery to POW
Arthur, Julia, and the boys enjoyed the summer of ’41 on their Howard County farm, ‘Our Decision.’ In August, Arthur receives a letter from the War Department at Fort DuPont calling him to duty as Quartermaster in the Philippines. In preparation, Arthur finds Julia and the boys a residence in the city so the boys can attend school and be near people. They settle on a house in Roland Park, 502 Wingate Road.
Arthur leaves the farm October 25, 1941…
Onboard a steamer to the islands, Arthur realizes they’ve sent every officer he's served under, over, or with, as there were so few officers at the time. He was there with West-pointer COL David Babcock, his best friend, and other good friends like Joe Ganahl, Ed Williams, and Bob Lindsay. Arthur is the highest-ranking mustang there among all West Point grads.
Arthur arrives in Manila Nov. 21, 1941 and reports to GEN George Parker, Commander of the South Luzon Force/Corps II who immediately gives Arthur a second job―Chief of Artillery, approved by USAFFE (United States Armed Forces Far East) and General MacArthur.
Even though it was against army regs, Arthur begins keeping a journal.
The first thing Arthur does is survey Luzon and finds the S.E. corner at Atimonan and Lamon Bay to be a probable landing as the other side of the Japanese ‘Mousetrap’ tactic. The Navy thinks it's too shallow; Arthur disagrees and goes to MacArthur’s HQ twice to request more artillery for this position…but even his friend Everett ‘Ed’ Williams is unable to persuade GEN Edward King it’s valid.
At 4 a.m. December 8, Arthur gets the call―Pearl Harbor has been hit and they are on 24-hour alert...and expected to be next.
On December 21st the Japanese land 43,000 troops in N.W. Luzon at Lingayen Gulf and in the wee hours of December 24th Arthur returns to Atimonan to check his position. He rousts his recon office, MAJ Lightfoot from a sound sleep in a small Filipino hotel. Suddenly, the Filipino proprietor yells---LOOK! At the window in the blue dawn, they watch Japanese destroyers, cruisers, and 40 transport boats come around Alabat Island—the entire 16th Japanese Naval Division, unopposed and heading for shore.
…and the Fall of Bataan begins.
Back at HQ, Parker gives Arthur a field-upgrade to full-bird Colonel and a letter of proof. And, per War Plan Orange, they are in a fighting retreat into Bataan. In February Arthur suffers an attack and taken to a Lami Field Hospital where they operate to remove his appendix.
In March 1941, GEN Wainwright takes over as Commanding the US Forces after MacArthur leaves the islands and promotes King to C.O. of the Luzon Force. Ironically, on March 21, Arthur gets a call from Ed Williams and asks if he would like to be on King’s staff. Of course, he accepts and coordinates gas, food, and water to run out at the same time…he thinks no later than mid-April.
By April, they have already eaten 250 horses and 48 mules of the 26th Calvary, starting with Wainwright's horse. On April 9, 1942 General King surrenders to GEN Homma and sends the two bachelors on his staff―Ed Williams and Marshall Hurt to carry the white flag forward.
Now, 12,000 American soldiers and 65,000 Filipinos become POWs in the largest US surrender since the battle of Harpers Ferry in the Civil War.
Since Arthur is on American Command, he is driven in an Army Staff car to Camp O'Donnell…and does not walk the Death March. Of course, he passes at least one friend (according to his diaries) MAJ Ganahl…who has a head wound. At one point a Japanese NCO forces my grandfather from the staff car, searches him, and at bayonet point, urges to escape into the jungle…which of course Arthur refuses to do.
When Arthur arrives at O'Donnell, there is only one spigot for what will be 75,000 men. He asks King if he can volunteer to fix it, even though it’s against army regs for officers to work under the Geneva Convention Rules. King finally says, “you've got the job!”
My grandfather enlists anyone from the Army Corps of Engineers well enough to work to help him dig trenches to fix the water situation. Next, Arthur volunteers to greet the catatonic and bewildered men on the Death March who start to stumble into camp, both Filipino and American …Even though he is suffering from malnutrition, Arthur triages and billets the hopeless, the broken, the salvageable, and the unsalvageable into barracks, all of them until it's done, which takes him two and half weeks.
In June ‘42, Arthur and the remaining POW's are moved to Camp Cabanatuan. The Japanese order the Americans to form their own command to oversee themselves. A tough 50-year-old marine COL Curtis Beecher takes command and makes Arthur Executive/ 3rd in charge.
Meanwhile back in Washington D.C., plans have been hatched to infiltrate the camp by way of a special Intel Operation using Filipino Resistance and the MIS-X in Manila to make contact, retrieve information of POW’s condition, and any strategic information that could turn the war against the Japanese.
Arthur insists they use the secret operation for humanitarian purposes… and at the same time, Beecher offers Arthur one of the only jobs outside of camp. Arthur doesn’t hesitate and soon is cutting wood in the Sierra Madres Mountains for the kitchens where he will be able to make contact with the Resistance.
To Be Continued…
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News from Community Building Art Works:
Glowing in the Dark - Wednesday, December 20th at 7pm EST (Virtual)
Join CBAW for Glowing in the Dark, our annual winter solstice reading. Hosted by Hari Alluri and Seema Reza, and featuring readings from writers whose work sustains us, helps us to balance the light and darkness in both bright and difficult times. Featuring readings by Anne Barlieb, Chen Chen, Tarfia Faizullah, Aracelis Girmay, Brionne Janae, Arthur Kayzakian, and more. Please bring a candle to light with us. Stay after the reading for our Visual Art Program with Veteran and Artist, Shaun Smith. Bring your medium of choice to learn how to paint a flame. Register at: https://GlowingInTheDark.eventbrite.com.
Military Spouses, Caregivers & Veterans Writing Workshop - Thursday, December 21st at 3:30pm EST (Virtual)
Join author Laura Van Prooyen on the first and third Thursdays at 3:30pm EST to learn how to use writing as a tool to communicate, self-discover, and reflect in our series in partnership with Blue Star Families. Register here.
Creative Writing with Seema Reza - Every Friday at 12pm EST (Virtual)
No experience required! If you can think, you can write. In this creative writing workshop, we'll consider writing as a tool for communication, expression, and relief from holding it all together. Join us any Friday afternoon. Visit www.cbaw.org/events.
More Than One Story - Next Virtual Orientation January 9th
Our monthly program for Women and Non-Binary Military has begun, but if you are still interested in participating, it's not too late. Interested individuals must attend an upcoming orientation to participate. Visit www.cbaw.org/mtos for more details.
Visit www.cbaw.org to learn more about Community Building Art Works. For more information, email info@cbaw.org.
At ServingTogether we provide local veteran resources, information and services to Active Duty service members, Veterans, Family members and Caregiver in the DMV region. We do this through Coordinated care, Community education and our Collaborative. Below you will find some information on all three approaches of care and outreach
Community Resources
ServingTogether, a program of EveryMind, was launched in 2011 to coordinate community-based resources for service members, veterans and their families in the MD/NoVa/DC region. Our mission is to make it easier for all those who have served in the Armed Forces, National Guard or Reserves, and their families to access the local services they need.
We are affiliated with a larger network of coordinated care, with the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) initiative called AmericaServes. We are one of 18 communities throughout the United States serving as a hub of health and human service related providers. The goal is to help reduce down the number of times a veteran or military-connected individual has to get bounced around to different providers or lost in seeking to find the right resource. This also allows us to be connected to a broader community of providers throughout the United States, and refer veterans to the closest provider to their community.
ServingTogether’s Peer Navigators connect service members, veterans, their family members and caregivers, regardless of rank, service era or discharge status, to specific resources to best fit their needs. From benefits and education assistance to financial, health care, legal and employment resources, ServingTogether’s staff connects military and veterans with opportunities and resources they may not even be aware of in the area.
To contact the Peer Navigators, please visit www.servingtogetherproject.org and complete the Get Assistance form on the website, or call 1-855-738-7176.
Community Education
ServingTogether works to educate the entire DMV community on the needs of military and veterans in the National Capital Region. Since 2012, ServingTogether staff has been trained to provide Mental Health First Aid workshops focusing on Military, Veterans and their Families. Mental Health First Aid teaches the warning signs of mental illness and addiction, as well as how to help someone experiencing a mental health related crisis. By attending a Military/Veteran Mental Health First Aid, our military and veterans become more aware of the support available in their community and help to break down the stigma associated with mental illness. To date, ServingTogether has trained over 650 Mental Health First Aiders in how to better understand military culture and the unique needs of our military and veteran populations, especially to support improved mental wellness. ServingTogether is funded to provide 4 Military/Veteran Mental Health First Aid workshops per year.
We are also connected to various experts in the region and can work to coordinate a workshop or training to meet the needs of providers and community stakeholders in the National Capital Area.
Visit www.ServingTogetherProject.org for upcoming events, information, helpful guides & checklists, and more. Sign up for our weekly newsletter that highlights events and information pertinent to the veteran population in the National Capital Region.
Community Collaboration
ServingTogether helps to coordinate or is members of various Collaboratives, Committees and Councils related to our military and veteran community. We chair 5 community collaboratives which provide an opportunity to network, share, learn and interconnect to other area community providers. To learn more about them, visit: https://servingtogetherproject.org/collaboratives/
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Is this your first edition of the MDVA newsletter? If so, welcome! You are receiving this newsletter because you signed up to receive it from our website or you gave permission to an MDVA program, the MD Motor Vehicle Administration or MD Department of Labor to receive information on VA benefits and resources. We at MDVA respect your privacy and DO NOT share your email address. We hope you enjoy receiving our bi-weekly newsletter and find it both educational and engaging. If you have questions about our Department, our Programs, or your VA benefits, please visit veterans.maryland.gov or call 410-260-3838.
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