Please join us as we dedicate a very special Queen Anne's County Park, "Veterans Point at Wells Cove."  This location has been made possible due to a large gift from the Earl and Barbara Griffin Foundation, based in Grasonville, and the tremendous work of our County Departments of Parks and Recreation and Public Works.  

This hour-long event will be followed by a free luncheon at the adjacent Bridge's Restaurant.  We will have increased handicapped parking immediately by the memorial and overflow parking (with shuttle service) under the Kent Narrows Bridge.  

It would be great if you could send out the attached flier within your respective circles and on your social media pages.   Thanks so much for your support in celebrating the service and sacrifices of our military men and women this Veterans Day!

Thanks so much!

Eric

Close to 75 attendees huddled together in the windy  and rainy weather in the hope the special ceremony would go on.  Working with the county’s Emergency Management meteorologist,  Shaelyn Parsley, and PIO, Beth Malasky, organizers isolated the perfect window in which to launch the ceremony in honor of the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country. 

Joe Candella, U.S. Army Veteran and President of the Board of Directors for the Veteran and Military Support Alliance (VAMSA) served as master of ceremonies.  After the invocation was given by Kent Island American Legion Post 278, Mark Hamilton  The inaugural flag raising ceremony was conducted by the Easton-based Mis-Shore Funeral detail as U.S. Air Force Major  (retired) Eric Johnson read the “meaning of the 13 folds of the flag” and who also sang the national anthem.  

Jim Moran, US Marine Corps veteran and president of the Queen Anne’s County Commissioners was on hand to give remarks and spoke highly of all of the organizers involved in making the memorial a reality.   Mike Foster, trustee for The Earl and Barbara Griffin Foundation, made remarks and spoke of the service of the benefactor, Earl Griffin, who served as Maryland’s statewide VFW commander in (need year here; it’s on the monument).  

The Griffin Foundation provided the funding for the six-figure memorial which was made possible in partnership with VAMSA (Joe Candella and Eric Johnson), Petrie Ventures (Walt Petrie), Queen Anne's County Commissioners (Jim Moran, Project Champion), Queen Anne's County Department of Public Works (Seth Cosans, Project Manager), Queen Anne's County Department of Parks and Recreation (Steve Chandlee, Project Liaison),U.S. Flags Company (Audrey Candella), Eastern Shore Enterprises, Inc. - Eastern Shore Flagpoles (Peter Mullaly), Chester River Landscaping (Lonny Arter, Project Manager and Meredith Watters, Co-manager for Landscape Architecture Design), Hillis-Carnes Engineering Associates (Vernon Opdyke), and Extreme Measures Surveying (Buck Nickerson).

“In spite of the weather, the event was truly successful,”said Eric Johnson, Executive Director of VAMSA and an Operation EVDURING FREEDOM (Afghanistan) veteran. “Today has a deeper meaning to me and so many other veterans who have lost friends and colleagues both on the battlefield and off. The original purpose of Memorial Day was to honor those who had died in battle. We now understand that the battlefield transcends time and space. This nation has now lost more men and women to suicide off the battlefield then to the number who have tragically given their lives on the battlefield.  While this is a horrifying milestone, it is events like this that help us remember the value of each of these lives given no matter what the circumstances might be.  I find faith and healing when our community can come together like this.”

The official dedication of the county’s new Veterans Point at Wells Cove site will take place this Veterans Day, 11/11 at 11 AM.  For more information, email: executive.director@vamsa.us

Event by Center for the Military and Veteran Family 

Location: VAMSA Headquarters (Center for the Military & Veteran Family) at Bay Bridge Marina; 301 Pier One Road; Stevensville, MD 21666

Time: 1pm - 4pm

Join us as we celebrate a year since completing our business plan and the impacts we’ve made at the Center for the Military and Veteran Family since we opened in May 2023. We will have wine, cheese, hors d’oeuvres and dessert. The dress is casual. Any questions? Please call Eric Johnson at 410-739-0970

Kent Islanders, please visit the Vietnam War Memorial recently dedicated on the grounds of Libbey's Coastal Kitchen + Cocktails

Libbey’s Coastal Kitchen at Bay Bridge Marina owner and Vietnam War veteran Walt Petrie unveiled a Vietnam War monument on April 22, 2023, to honor three fallen service members from his military unit.

“On March 25, 1967, during operation ’Junction City,’ members of Company C 4th Combat Engineers Spec 4 Michael Twigg, Spec 5 Michael Knight, and Sergeant Lloyd McBroom were killed in action,” explains Petrie. “On April 22, we will dedicate this monument to them, their families, and the other 55,000 men and women that made the ultimate sacrifice in the Vietnam War.”

Accompanied by veterans of all generations, special guests included Company C 4th Combat Engineers former members Captain Sanchez and Colonel Sciple, Lieutenant Pietrie, Spec 4 Joe Poppone, Spec 4 John Patella, and Spec 5 Ron Gray as well as company commanders. In addition, local, regional, and state officials, including Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, were in attendance.

This Memorial Day Weekend, while everyone is enjoying the weather, grilling, and boating, remember those who gave their lives so we could be free.

Do you know a veteran that needs support? Please check out qacveteransupport.org for information on military veteran support right here in Queen Anne's County!

Sat, April 22, 2023

VAMSA Board members Walt Petrie and Wes Guckert hosted a hugely successful
dedication in honor of their Vietnam unit’s fallen and surviving members at an event
attended by 150+ attendees at Libbey’s restaurant. They were joined by speakers
Anthony Brown, Maryland Attorney General; Jim Moran, President of the Queen Anne’s
County Commissioners; and Eric Johnson, Executive Director of VAMSA.

Eric detailed the plan to launch the National Center for the Military and Veteran Family and officially
launched the Alliance’s FY2024 Capital Campaign in the following remarks:

"I am humbled to speak at an event honoring both the surviving and fallen members of
the Vietnam war. Queen Anne’s County is the “gateway to the eastern shore.” As
such, Queen Anne’s County provides a welcome to those traveling east-bound on the
Chesapeake Bay Bridge. I served in Operation ENDURING FREEDOM at Bagram Air
Base in Afghanistan…and I received a warm welcome home. Many of my Vietnam
brothers and sisters did not. Today we help correct that with the dedication of the “3
soldiers” statue. May it serve as a testament to this county’s commitment to all
veterans—and a tribute to those that deserve a long overdue “welcome home.”

It is an honor to speak today on behalf of the Queen Anne’s County Veteran and Military
Support Alliance, also known as VAMSA. Our innovative alliance launched in 2022 to
provide accessible and free resources uniquely tailored to military and veterans, their
families, and their caregivers here on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. I could not be prouder
to announce here today the launch of the National Center for the Military and Veteran
Family—to be located right here at Bay Bridge Marina. Over the next year we will offer
the first phase of the Center: a locally-facing resource center that seeks to offer peer
support groups, VA claims assistance, massage therapy, a healing book library, and so
much more.

The guiding principle on which we stand is a moral one. We seek to cement the
standard that there is an absolute moral obligation to support the entire military family
from start to finish. This is what sets us apart from other resource centers—and why we
have been encouraged to make this a national symbol of hope for the warrior family.

We know our military and veterans need our help regardless of their discharge status,
length of service, military branch or occupation. It is equally crucial that we recognize
and respond to the unique needs of our military spouses and their children. And we
need to ensure caregivers have an equal amount of support and that they are trained to
recognize and respond to the specialized challenges of veterans under their care.

We understand after decades of research that military servicemembers tend to enter
their military career with a history of trauma as a child and/or young adult. We then
send these physically healthiest of Americans into harm’s way where they are likely to
experience more trauma. Many of these soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines return
home to their communities as some of the most broken and in dire need of support that
is not always readily available in rural communities. If we are to continue to enlist a
ready, willing and able fighting force, we must start working with our military-tracked
youth in ROTC units and in our very own Kent Island Sea Cadets.

On February 3rd of this year VAMSA entered into a strategic partnership with the
nationally-recognized Veterans Health and Wellness Foundation. Together, we are
joining forces to establish phase two of The Center for the Military and Veteran Family:
a nationally-facing center of excellence. This second phase of our business plan calls
for an educational center that serves as a training ground for community leaders across
the nation, particularly those in rural America, to assemble, exchange ideas and learn
how to operationalize “thank you for your service.” They can then return to their
respective communities and establish similar resource centers adapting the model
presented at the Center.

Our nation’s first Commander in Chief, George Washington had the powerful foresight
to say, “The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any wars, no
matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the Veterans of
earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation.”

Here in Queen Anne’s County we are fulfilling this sentiment. We are operationalizing
thank you for your service and we will help set the standard for rural communities
across this great nation.

Immediately following this dedication, we encourage you to join us here at Libbey’s for a
free luncheon at which we will be launching our Center’s capital campaign. I am excited
to report we have raised close to $100,000 of the $300K we seek for our fiscal year
ahead. With your help and support, I am confident we will meet and exceed this target.
Thank you---and God bless our military, veterans, and this nation.

If anyone would like to pledge a gift sometime in the next year, please private message
Eric at execjtive.director@VAMSA.us. If anyone would like to donate now, you can pay
immediately at the following link:
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=E8CBCTRML2ZLU

Libbey's Coastal Kitchen at Bay Bridge Marina owner and Vietnam War veteran Walt Petrie will unveil a Vietnam War monument to honor three fallen service members from his military unit at a dedication taking place Saturday, April 22, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. on marina grounds.  The monument is a replica of the “Three Soldiers” statue that was added to the National Vietnam Memorial site in Washington, D.C. (pictured).

“On March 25, 1967 during operation ’Junction City,’ members of Company C 4th Combat Engineers Spec 4 Michael Twigg, Spec 5 Michael Knight, and Sergeant Lloyd McBroom were killed in action,” explains Petrie. “On April 22, we will dedicate this monument to them, their families, and the other 55,000 men and women that made the ultimate sacrifice in the Vietnam War.”

Accompanied by veterans of all generations, special guests include Company C 4th Combat Engineers former members Captain Sanchez and Colonel Sciple, Lieutenant Pietrie, Spec 4 Joe Poppone, Spec 4 John Patella, and Spec 5 Ron Gray as well as company commanders. In addition, local, regional, and state officials, including Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, will be in attendance. The memorial will serve as a firm reminder that since the dawn of this nation veterans have stood ready to give the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our country.

Fellow Vietnam Veteran Wes Guckert, President and CEO of SDVOSB, The Traffic Group, Inc., will serve as the memorial’s emcee. Guckert is also a founding member of the Queen Anne’s County Veteran and Military Support Alliance (VAMSA) and a staunch, life-long supporter of veterans and their unique needs.

As part of the memorial and dedication event taking place on April 22, VAMSA and the national Veterans Health and Wellness Foundation will announce a strategic partnership to open a national center of excellence to provide critically needed resources and support for service members, veterans, their families, and caregivers with VAMSA.

To be located in the adjacent office park, the VAMSA Center will offer free navigation services, counseling, peer support, benefits advisement, massage and holistic therapies, and other locally-based services.

“Veterans and their families encounter some of the most challenging struggles of any Americans – especially after service members come home wounded both physically and mentally,” says Eric Johnson, Executive Director and Vice Chair of VAMSA and a disabled Operation ENDURING FREEDOM (Afghanistan) Veteran. “We seek to cement the standard that there is an absolute moral obligation to support the entire military family from start to finish.”

“The experiences of veterans are often vastly different than that of their civilian neighbors, so their voice needs to be adequately incorporated in health and wellness discussions and ultimately healthcare delivery,” says Evelyn Lewis, MD, MA, FAAFP, President and Chair of the Veterans Health and Wellness Foundation. “For veterans and their families to be their best, they need receptive, culturally accepting communities which they can call home and feel at home.”

In the future, the Center will serve as a training ground for community leaders across the nation, particularly those in rural America, to assemble, exchange ideas and learn how to operationalize “thank you for your service.” They can then return to their respective communities and establish similar resource centers adapting the model presented at the center.

With limited capacity, the dedication event is private and by invitation only.  Approximately 200 attendees are expected.  The memorial and center will be open to the public during events in the near future.

Click for Official Press Release

Come to the Veterans Health & Wellness Fair!

Download the attached Flyer Here!

When: May 6, 2023 10:00-1:00
Where: Barnette Center Conference Room
255 Comet Dr. Centreville, MD 21617

For more information or to become a partner contact:
Robyn Affron, Compass Volunteer Manager
raffron@compassregionalhospice.org

VAMSA Vice Chair, Eric Johnson, will speak at the Centreville American Legion's Veterans Day event at 11 am at the historic Queen Anne's County Courthouse in Centreville.