Museum’s 2022 Fall Lecture Series Takes Flight Featuring Famed WWII Tuskegee Airman

/in /by

September 13, 2022 (Toledo, Ohio) –On Wednesday, September 28, at 7 p.m. the National Museum of the Great Lakes (NMGL) will kick off their annual fall lecture series with “Last Flight of a Tuskegee Airman” featuring underwater archaeologist Wayne Lusardi.

“On April 11, 1944, Second Lt. Frank Moody, a manner of the Tuskegee Airmen, lost his life on a training mission over Lake Huron,” shares NMGL’s Archaeological and Research Director Carrie Sowden. “The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of African American military pilots and airmen who fought in World War II. To help explore their story and this tragedy, we’ve asked Mr. Lusardi to join us in sharing his investigation of the archaeological site and theories of what may have happened on that fateful day.”  

The presenter, Wayne Lusardi, is the State Maritime Archaeologist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Through his work, he is responsible for the research, documentation, preservation, and management of nearly 200 shipwrecks located in and around Thunder Bay, and another 1,300 around the State of Michigan. Although Mr. Lusardi will be presenting virtually, individuals who register for the lecture will have the option to watch him at the Museum during an in-person watch party and live-streamed question and answer session.    

This is the first of three lectures in the museum’s 2022 Fall Lecture Series. On Wednesday, October 26 the museum will feature Author Wendy Kolie who will uncover the deadly undercurrent lurking beneath Lake Erie’s surface in “Lake Erie Murder and Mayhem”. Then, on Wednesday, November 9 NMGL’s final lecture will take a comprehensive look at the only floating US Post Office by presenting “Mail By the Pail: The History of the J.W. Westcott Co.” 

All lectures are hybrid events—meaning participants can choose when registering to take part in the lecture at the museum or online via Zoom. Event registration is required but free. Donations are encouraged and can be given upon registration. For more information on the spring lectures or to register to join the event, visit nmgl.org.

For more information, call 419-214-5000, visit our event page here.