BLAKEFIELD COMMUNITY CELEBRATES 2ND ANNUAL SALUTE TO SERVICE

On Saturday, November 5, the Blakefield community celebrated the 2^nd Annual Salute to Service and Senior Day during our final home varsity football game of the season on Hargaden Field—the Dons defeated Edmondson-Westside High School 48–32.

The pregame ceremony included introductions to each senior football player, a presentation by the Color Guard, and the unfurling of a giant American flag on Hargaden Field with the national anthem sung by our own Mark Sucoloski ’18.

During halftime, members of the Loyola Patriots Club recognized and thanked all veterans in attendance and awarded the Patriots Medal to Loyola veterans Gregory Smith ’93 and the late Edward Haviland ‘44 for their exemplary service and to Tyler Steinhardt for his outstanding support of our troops through his organization, Shootout for Soldiers. Read more about each recipient below.

Commander Gregory Smith began his service in the United States Navy in 1993, right after his graduation from Loyola, when he was sworn in as a Midshipman at the United States Naval Academy. While at Loyola he ran cross country, played lacrosse, and was a co-captain of the wrestling team, earning All-America honors. Commander Smith has more than 2,600 flight hours as a Naval Flight Officer in the P-3 Orion. He served as Commanding Officer of Patrol Squadron TWO SIX Tridents. Under his leadership, the Tridents completed more than 370 operational missions in support of Operations Inherent Resolve and Enduring Freedom and twice won the Atlantic Fleet Battle Efficiency Award as the top-performing patrol squadron on the east coast.

In October 2000, Commander Smith was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for his mission performance during the rapid delivery of crisis response personnel and medical supplies to Aden, Yemen, following the attack on the USS Cole. In May 2015, he was awarded the Air Medal for his contributions to more than 30 successful combat missions during treacherous sustained combat operations in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. Commander Smith is currently assigned as a Naval Strategist at the Pentagon.

Commander Smith’s nephew, Jack Meyers ’20, was on hand to present his uncle with the medal.

Edward Haviland withdrew from Loyola in 1943, at the age of 17, to fight in WWII as a nose gunner with the US Army Air Corps in the Pacific. On his fifth combat mission, Eddie’s plane was shot down by the Japanese, but a severely injured Eddie parachuted into the jungle of Borneo along with five of his fellow airmen. The seven other soldiers on the plane were all killed. The soldiers were found by local tribesmen and hidden from the Japanese. They barely survived with almost no food and very little water deep in the dense jungle. They often went days without food and developed various tropical diseases. The jungle imprisonment really took a toll on them. Eddie and his fellow airmen had no idea if we were winning the war or if anyone even knew they were still alive. After almost seven harrowing months, the sick and emaciated airmen were rescued by a squad of Australian soldiers. Eventually, Eddie earned his law degree, married and had five children, including two Loyola Dons. A member of the “greatest generation,” Eddie was truly a man for others. You can read more about Eddie’s experiences in the upcoming Turkey Bowl program.

Michael Haviland ‘82 accepted the medal on his father’s behalf.

Tyler Steinhardt

Tyler Steinhardt is the Founder and Executive Director of Shootout for Soldiers, a 24-hour lacrosse event benefiting veterans that has raised over $1.5 million since 2012. Tyler started Shootout for Soldiers while attending Boys’ Latin. The mission of Shootout for Soldiers is to use the platform of lacrosse to engage communities with their local veterans and support their healthy and successful transition to civilian life. Many of our Loyola Dons have played in the Baltimore Shootout for Soldiers held each year in June. What started as one game in one city, has grown to eight cities across the United States. Tyler previously served as the General Manager of the Uganda Lacrosse team that competed in the 2014 World Championships held in Denver, and was also a Program Manager for Fields of Growth International based in Kampala, Uganda. Tyler is a native of Baltimore and a graduate of American University in Washington, DC. Tyler’s commitment to our veterans and children around the world is an inspiration and we are humbled by his service.