For America's birthday, Michigan swimmer to tow 250 cannonballs

Jim Dreyer, the 62-year-old long-distance swimmer who calls himself "The Shark" and has achieved unusual feats in the water, is planning a new test of strength: The Michigander aims to tow 250 cannonballs while swimming 22 miles. Take that, UFC fighters!Dreyer's latest stunt is being billed — like many anniversary activities this year — as an activity to commemorate America’s 250th birthday.

It is also designed to increase awareness about thousands of preventable deaths and raise money for a veteran's memorial."I don’t see how we can celebrate 250 years of freedom without also honoring those who fought to win and preserve that freedom," Dreyer of Grand Haven explained. "That is what this swim and memorial are all about."

All sorts of events, including Ultimate Fighting Championship, mixed martial arts cage matches on the White House lawn on Sunday, June 14, are unfolding this year to commemorate America's 250th anniversary.Dreyer's swim might also prove to be redemption for the Michigander, whose last two attempts to regain past glory by re-creating his swim across Lake Michigan didn't quite work out the way he had hoped and were cut short.Dreyer's latest feat is set to start Aug.

7, with Dreyer arriving at Goodrich Park in Whitehall during the While Lake Maritime Festival, a three-day family event aimed at honoring the area’s nautical ties. The silver-colored Revolutionary War-style cannonballs will be used in a new memorial, the U.S.

250th Combat Veterans Memorial, which will be on the state's west side at Whitehall, a vacation city off White Lake.The swim will be 22 miles, which, in addition to the number of cannonballs, also has symbolic meaning. Twenty-two is a number that has been used to emphasize the average number of veterans who take their own lives daily after serving in combat.

It was taken from a 2012 report by the Department of Veterans Affairs.More recent studies, however, put the average number closer to 17. Either way, public health officials point