A dress swap that has grown to save military families more than $2 million, and efforts to honor the heroes who fought in the World War II Battle of Bataan will be highlighted in April as part of the Association of the U.S. Army’s “Army Matters” podcast series.

First up is a podcast featuring Yvonne Coombes, CEO and co-founder of Operation Deploy Your Dress.

In 2015, five Army spouses at Fort Bliss, Texas, decided to organize a dress swap to lessen the cost of formal wear for holiday balls. The idea quickly grew into Operation Deploy Your Dress, which offers gently used dresses and accessories to military members and dependents.

The group now has 13 shops across the U.S. and one in Germany, and it has given away more than 25,000 dresses, saving military families more than $2 million, according to the organization’s website.

During the podcast, Coombes will talk about how the organization helps bring together Army families and communities—and how aliens in Roswell, New Mexico, played a role in her life.

The episode is available April 10.

On April 13, AUSA will team up with the group for the seventh annual Operation Deploy Your Dress D.C. pop-up event, featuring more than 1,000 dresses.

This year’s event will be at a new location, the Military Women’s Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.

For more information, click here.

Next up in the “Army Matters” series is a podcast featuring retired Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba, board chairman for the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project, a nonprofit that raises awareness of and works to obtain recognition for World War II Filipino American soldiers.

After the Japanese invaded Luzon, Philippines, in January 1942, American and Filipino troops fought for three months while dealing with insufficient supplies, according to the National World War II Museum. Suffering from disease, hunger, wounds and death, the troops eventually surrendered to the Japanese and were forced into the Bataan Death March, according to the museum.

The 60,000 to 80,000 Filipino and American prisoners of war endured horrific conditions during the 65-mile march.

As a child, Taguba, who was born in the Philippine capital of Manila, knew his father had been involved in the Bataan Death March, but it wasn’t until the older man’s dying days that Taguba learned the full extent of his father’s experiences.

Their conversation inspired him to lead an effort to ensure the POWs are never forgotten. The effort led to the veterans receiving the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor Congress can bestow.

During the April 24 podcast, Taguba will share his own Army story, the historical events of April 1942 and why he still travels across the country every year to deliver the Gold Medals to survivors and veterans.

Full details on the podcasts are available at https://www.ausa.org/podcast. Listeners also can subscribe to “Army Matters” for updates.