The ever vigilant band of U.S. veterans who have been bringing major reenactments to the shores of Lake Michigan and the Southwest Michigan Regional Airport for years now will once again host a patriotic concert next month and everyone in the region is invited.
Organizers promise it will be a patriotic event when the Southshore Concert Band joins Lest We Forget in saluting veterans of all conflicts in their annual Veterans Day Patriotic Concert on Sunday, November 11th at 2:00 pm at Lake Michigan College’s Mendel Center in Benton Harbor.
This will be their thirteenth Veterans Day Concert sponsored by Lest We Forget and the Southshore Concert Band led by Dale Reuss. The 80 members of the Southshore Band will be featuring traditional patriotic songs and salutes for the branches of the service. The theme for the concert is “Making The World Safe For Democracy – Music From World War I.”
The First World War sometimes called the Great War, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from July 28, 1914 to November 11, 1918. Contemporaneously described as the “war to end all wars”, it led to the mobilization of more than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, making it one of the largest wars in history. An estimated nine million combatants and seven million civilians died as a direct result of the war.
As they remember this 100th anniversary of the end of World War I “Making The World Safe For Democracy” will be a program designed to musically assert the American ideals of “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” through the performance by the Southshore Concert Band, including instrumental, vocal and visual selections. The men and women who have sacrificed to protect and defend those American ideals as members of the United States military forces will be remembered and honored throughout the program.
Prior to the 2018 concert, Lest We Forget will honor all veterans by taking their photo. They will receive a free copy following the event. The photo opportunity will start at 1 pm and continue until 1:45 pm. During the concert a tribute will be paid to the Lest We Forget members who have passed on, and they will be showing each of their photographs while “The Mansions of the Lord” is sung by Jeffery Whittaker. The program will include a salute to each branch of the armed services and a “Tribute to Missing Comrades.”
Tickets are available at Stevensville & St. Joseph Martin’s Supermarkets or from Lest We Forget members and at the door for $10.00. Advance tickets are available from the Lake Michigan College Mendel Center Box Office 269-927-8700, option 1 or the website www.TheMendelCenter.com for $12.00. Children 17 and under are admitted free of charge.
There will be a large map of Vietnam on which Vietnam veterans will be invited to sign their name in the place where they served. A display of WWI helmets, uniforms and other memorabilia from the Robert Dunn collection will be on display in the lobby. There will be an opportunity at the concert to purchase Lest We Forget shirts, books, American flags and DVD’s. For questions you can call Lest We Forget at 269-429-2098 or go to www.LestWeForgetUSA.com.
The photo accompanying this story on Moody on the Market shows Lest We Forget re-enactors on Silver Beach in St. Joseph several years ago.
