Lest We Forget of Southwest Michigan is planning their annual reenactment weekend scheduled for June 21 – 22, 2025. This year, the group said they plan to highlight the United States involvement in the Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts, sometimes called The Sandbox Wars.
In anticipation of this event, the group is inviting the public to attend six Tuesday evening sessions at Lake Michigan College, Benton Harbor Campus, Room D-112, to hear from local veterans who served there. The sessions begin on April 15, 2025.
The schedule of speakers and associated military conflicts are as follows:
April 15, 7:00 – 9:00 P.M. SMSgt Scherwitz Desert Storm
April 22, 7:00 – 9:00 P.M. Capt Alsbro Desert Storm
During Operation Desert Storm, which ran from August 2, 1990 to July 31, 1991, approximately 697,000 U.S. service members participated, with the conflict formally ending on February 28, 1991. 299 lost their lives.
April 29, 7:00 – 9:00 P.M. SSgt McGowan & SFC Jones Iraqi Freedom
More than 1.5 million Soldiers, Sailors and Marines deployed to Iraq between March 20, 2003 and December 18, 2011. Over 32,000 U.S. service members were wounded in action in Iraq and 4,486 made the ultimate sacrifice.
May 6, 7:00 – 9:00 P.M. Col Sawyer Afghanistan
May 13, 7:00 – 9:00 P.M. 1st Sgt Mayer & Lt Col Russell Afghanistan
May 20, 7:00 – 9:00 P.M. SCPO Briseno & Lt Col Deal Afghanistan
Approximately 800,000 American military personnel served in Afghanistan during the 20-year war. Between October 7, 2001 and August 30, 2021, a total of 2,459 U.S. military personnel died in Afghanistan. Over 1.9 million deployed in total including Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom and many have faced significant challenges and costs, both physically and emotionally.
Previous reenactment themes from Lest We Forget have included WWII, Korea, Vietnam, The U.S. Navy, Women in Service, The Cold War and in 2024 the 80th Anniversary of the D-Day and Saipan Battles.
For more information, you can visit the group’s website at: LestWeForgetUSA.org.
