The 250 cannonballs towed by Jim "The Shark" Dreyer in his 2026 historic swim to commemorate America’s 250th birthday may be purchased in honor of Combat Veterans for mounting with an accompanying plaque on the U.S. 250th Combat Veterans Memorial.  This tribute will forever honor loved ones who sacrificed to serve our country in combat on this most unique memorial. 

Honorers will receive a photo file of their cannonball and engraved plaque after they are mounted on the memorial.  The plaque will be numbered so it can easily be located when visiting the memorial in Whitehall, Michigan.​  You may also submit a photo and write a tribute for your honoree that can be viewed by memorial visitors when they scan a QR code.

Please apply for an honorary cannonball below and submit the necessary paperwork and on optional photo to eventmarketing@comcast.net.  There is no application fee.  Please submit a separate application for each Combat Veteran to be honored. 

After your application is approved, we will send you a secure online link for making a $750 tax-deductible donation to have your honorary cannonball and plaque mounted on the memorial.  Donations may also be mailed to save on processing fees.  Electronic receipts will be provided. 

Donations will go to a Whitehall Veterans organization (TBD) for construction of the memorial, and any fundraising surplus will be distributed between all participating White Lake Area Veterans organizations.

Thank you for honoring those who fought to win and preserve our freedom for 250 years!

*  Please note that this online platform is used the majority of the time for race registrations and thereby asks for your date of birth and gender by default.  On occasion, this platform refers to our tribute as a "race."  The "Race Date" of June 15, 2027 refers to the completion of the memorial, but the date is purely speculative.