THE SANDBOX WARS IS THIS YEAR'S THEME
Lest We Forget of Southwest Michigan is planning their annual reenactment weekend
scheduled for June 21 - 22, 2025. Previous themes 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. This year Lest We Forget will highlight the United States involvement in the
Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts, sometimes called The Sandbox Wars.
In anticipation of this event, the public is invited 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.
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.
