LCMS WORLD MISSION - Press Release - 12/2/2003

Retired Air Force General John A. Shaud of Springfield, Va., has been selected to receive the Silver St. Martin of Tours Medal at the 62nd regular convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in St. Louis, Mo., next July. The church body's Ministry to the Armed Forces Committee and the Board for Mission Services confers the award in recognition of exceptionally meritorious service to the nation and the church and traditionally announces the recipient on Nov. 11, which is both Veterans Day, as well as St. Martin of Tours Day.

The award is based on the legend of St. Martin, a fourth century bishop of Tours, France. As a Roman soldier, Martin was converted after sharing his officer's cape with a beggar and later dreaming the beggar was Jesus. Lutherans also remember St. Martin's Day as the date of Luther's baptism in 1483, resulting in his Christian name, Martin.

“General Shaud is a natural selection for this award,” said retired Army Chaplain Rodger Venzke, director of the LCMS Ministry to the Armed Forces. “His years of dedication to both his country and his church reflect the characteristics of a true servant-leader.”

Shaud achieved four-star rank during his distinguished 35-year career in the Air Force that included such key command and staff positions as commander of the Air Training Command and chief of staff, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe.

A 1956 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, Shaud began his Air Force career as a B-47 pilot and later flew B-52s. During the Vietnam War, he also qualified as a fighter pilot and flew combat missions. Among his many awards are the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross. Following his military retirement, General Shaud served four years as the director of the Air Force Aid Society. From 1995 until recently, he was the executive director of the 140,000-member Air Force Association.

General Shaud is a committed layman of the LCMS, who has served in voluntary roles in various local congregations and with the national church body. Since Nov. 1993, he has been the chairman of the church's Ministry to the Armed Forces Committee, the agency through which the church body selects and endorses clergy to serve as military and V.A. chaplains, and provides a “Ministry-by-Mail” program for members of the church body serving in the military. General Shaud and his wife, Janelle, are currently active members of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Springfield, Va.

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RELATED LINKS:
www.lcmsworldmission.org/armedforces
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