SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN — A Cassopolis author will be hosting two presentations in southwest Michigan this month.

Lake Michigan College will host a Veterans Day presentation by author, historian and adventurer, Taras Lyssenko, of Cassopolis. He will discuss his recent book, “The Great Navy Birds of Lake Michigan: The True Story of the Privateers of Lake Michigan and the Aircraft They Rescued.”

The presentation will be at 12:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 11 in the Blue Lecture Hall located in LMC’s Benton Harbor campus Main Building. The 40-minute presentation is free, open to the public and will be followed by an interactive discussion with the author. No RSVP is required.

Lyssenko will also present at the Niles-Buchanan YMCA, 905 N. Front St., Niles, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 16. The presentation is free and will take place in the lobby.

For more than 35 years, Lyssenko helped lead a team of divers and explorers to survey the southern basin of Lake Michigan. On behalf of the National Naval Aviation Museum, they rescued dozens of World War II US Navy aircraft from their watery graves. The aircraft were lost during an almost forgotten naval project that trained thousands of carrier pilots between 1942 and 1945. Now, these machines are on display in museums and airports across the county.

“My book is not a telling of local history or the detailed study of aircraft. It is a micro study of American humanities and an odyssey within a realm no others have dared to enter,” Lyssenko said.

Lyssenko works in government relations and business development promoting the advancement of scientific technologies that improve and protect life within the realm of defense, energy and homeland security. He is widely known for the recovery and preservation of hundreds of underwater historical artifacts including World War II aircraft, ships dating back to the 1800s and the only remaining UC Type World War I German Submarine, according to LMC representatives. He is an avid horseman and spends his free time on youth education and outreach efforts to promote scientific and exploration opportunities.