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Lest We Forget PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release |
Larry Wozniak
269-429-2098
Lest We Forget of Southwest Michigan is planning their annual reenactment weekend scheduled for July 18 - 19, 2026 at Riverview Park, 2927 Niles Avenue in St. Joseph. Previous themes have included WWII, Korea, Vietnam, The U.S. Navy, Women in Service, The Cold War, the 80th Anniversary of the D-Day and Saipan Battles and in 2025 the Sandbox Wars of Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan. This year Lest We Forget will highlight our Semiquincentennial, the 250th anniversary of the United States.
This Revolutionary War Reenactment weekend will feature Camp Life, Parade of Military Uniforms and Civilian Dress, Tomahawk Throwing, Music and Dance and two 1776 era War Battles per day. The North West Territory Alliance (NWTA.com) is an American Revolutionary War reenactment organization located in the Midwestern United States. They have over five hundred members from states as far west as Iowa, east to Ohio, north to the Canadian border, and south to Tennessee. They are a non-profit educational organization that recreates the culture, lifestyle and arts of the time of the American Revolution, 1775-1783. They strive to duplicate the uniforms, weapons, battlefield tactics and camp life of the era as accurately as possible.
The day begins both Saturday and Sunday with a Pancake Breakfast from 7:00 - 10:00 a.m. Naturalists from the Sarett Nature Center, Benton Harbor, will give the public rides on the St Joseph River in its 35-foot voyageur canoe. The canoe holds up to 19 people. The canoes were used extensively for the fur trade from the 1600s until about 1870, when the French-Canadian voyageurs were trading with the Native Americans. A naturalist will be in the front of the canoe with a steersman in the back and riders help paddle. Rides are open to any age according to a nature center spokesperson, but young children must be accompanied by adults. Life jackets will be provided. Rides will last from 20 to 30 minutes.
Military organizations, Veteran groups and 18th Century History displays are invited to reserve a spot by contacting https://www.lestweforgetusa.org/contact
All activities are open and free to the public. Helicopter rides will be offered for $60 cash and $65 credit card.
Lest We Forget will fly a Field of 250 Flags at Whirlpool Centennial Park, line the fence at St. Joseph High School with Flags and has sponsored the bluff stairs mural.
On July 8, 2026, at 6:00 PM EDT, St Joseph will lift its voice—together—in a synchronized reading of the Declaration of Independence with communities across our nation and the world. This isn’t a reenactment; it’s a renewal. We’re inviting every citizen to Whirlpool Centennial Park to witness The Declaration of Independence being read by Pat Moody. The Declaration’s words—“all men are created equal”—were proclaimed by a small circle of wealthy, well‑educated men in powdered wigs, many of whom denied those very rights to others. And yet those words sparked Unfinished Revolutions: abolishing slavery; restoring and lifting Indigenous voices; expanding the vote; welcoming immigrants; empowering civil rights and labor movements; sending girls to school—then into laboratories—legislatures—and low Earth orbit. The arc is imperfect—and still bending—because ordinary people keep showing up to make the text true.
@ Nite
www.LestWeForgetUSA.org
Haven’t been able to attend Lest We Forget at the
monthly 1st Wednesday 10:00 a.m. meetings?
Lest We Forget welcomes Veterans of all Services and Conflicts AND Patriots
It’s NEW! The next evening LWF gathering
At the Three Oaks American Legion Post 204
204 W Linden St, Three Oaks, MI 49128
Wednesday, May 20 - 7:00 p.m.
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Speakers Program |
Lest We Forget of Southwest Michigan is planning their annual reenactment weekend scheduled for July 18 - 19, 2026 at Riverview Park in St. Joseph. Previous themes have included WWII, Korea, Vietnam, The U.S. Navy, Women in Service, The Cold War, the 80th Anniversary of the D-Day and Saipan Battles and in 2025 the Sandbox Wars of Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan. This year Lest We Forget will highlight our Semiquincentennial, the 250th anniversary of the United States.
In anticipation of this event, the public is invited to attend eight Tuesday evening sessions at Lake Michigan College, Benton Harbor Campus, Room D-105, to learn from distinguished professors. The sessions begin on April 7, 2026.
The Revolutionary War
April 7, 7:00 - 9:00 P.M. “Boston and the Road to Independence”
Professor Eric Hinderaker, Ph.D. University of Utah
In the events leading to the US Declaration of Independence, the town of Boston played a major role. What made Boston different—why did it become the crucible of American independence? In this talk, Eric Hinderaker will sketch Boston’s history with an eye to its unique characteristics and consider the events that brought thirteen colonies into war with the British empire. He will consider the detailed list of grievances contained in the Declaration of Independence, their connection to events in Boston and their relevance for our time.
April 14, 7:00 - 8:00 P.M. “Afoot at Lexington: Uncertainty, Memory, and the First Shots of April 19, 1775”
John Hodgson, Local Historian
On the night the Revolution began, the people of Lexington were operating on limited information, rumor, and instinct. This presentation reconstructs the events of April 18–19 strictly from their perspective, separating documented evidence from later embellishment. The result is a portrait not of legend, but of ordinary people making decisions in uncertainty at a hinge point in history.
April 14, 8:00 - 9:00 P.M. “The Masters of Massachusetts”
Cherisse Havlicek, Local Author
Cherisse will discuss the 12 years of events leading up to the signing of the Declaration and the people who pushed things forward to that epic moment that began our country.
April 21, 7:00 - 9:00 P.M. “Creating an American Way of War”
Professor Fred Johnson, Ph.D. Hope College
Professor Johnson’s presentation will include a rousing account of Trenton, Saratoga and Valley Forge. We are sorry to say that Dr Johnson has died from a Heart Attack. Another presentation will be announced soon.
April 28, 7:00 - 9:00 P.M. The Crossing (Movie with Jeff Daniels as George Washington) The Continental Army, under the command of General George Washington, was on the brink of utter defeat. Low on men, cannons and supplies, Washington decides to risk everything on one last desperately daring attack on the town of Trenton where over 1000 of the feared Hessian mercenaries are garrisoned. However to do that, the army must cross the Delaware to a seemingly hopeless battle.
Popcorn will be provided. Bring your own drink.
May 5, 7:00 - 9:00 P.M. “It’s complicated: France, the United States and the building of an unlikely alliance.”
Professor Guillaume de Syon, Ph.D. Albright College
Between 1754, when George Washington first encountered “them” and 1784, when the French openly praised him, the United States and France experienced distrust, ideological differences and religious antagonisms. That such a poor beginning led to a solid alliance was the result of circumstances, but also military success, and the work behind the scenes of multiple personalities in both nations. This two-part presentation proposes to look at how the relationship evolved militarily and diplomatically. The ideals of the Enlightenment were shared among elites, but less so among the military and general
populations. Yet, the result, considering the twin revolutions (1775-76 and 1789-99) led to the founding of the American and French Republics and the building of a special relationship between nations.
May 12, 7:00 - 9:00 P.M. “The Die is Cast: The Intolerable Acts and the American Revolution."
Professor Andrew Shankman, Ph.D. Rutgers University
The year 1774 and the passage by the British Parliament of the Coercive (or Intolerable) Acts changed forever American colonists' understanding of Britain and their place in the British empire. The reaction to the Coercive Acts led to a rejection of monarchy, revolutionary struggle, the massive disruption of everyday life, and previously unthinkable aspirations and expectations for what should replace the discredited and rejected British Monarchy.
May 19, 7:00 - 9:00 P.M. “State Constitutions of the Revolutionary Era”
Professor Sally Hadden. Ph.D. Western Michigan University
She will discuss state constitutions at a general level and some of the oddities (New Hampshire's and Georgia's first constitutions), showcase Massachusetts I and then explain how Massachusetts II created the model that the rest followed and that we still follow.
May 26, 7:00 - 9:00 P.M. “What Was the Founders’ Original Intent: The Lessons of Europe and the Origins of the Constitution”
Professor James Lewis, Ph.D. Kalamazoo College
Kalamazoo College history professor James E. Lewis Jr. will talk about what the Framers of the Constitution meant by a "more perfect union" and how their "original intents" for the Constitution bear little or no relationship to our contemporary concerns about "original intent." Come learn about the Constitution you never knew and how the thinking behind it shaped American domestic and foreign policy for decades after 1787.
T-Shirts: D-Day and Sandbox $5.00
while limited supplies last.
