The Lone Sailor

The Lone Sailor

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Artist	Stanley Bleifeld
Year	1987
Type	Bronze
Location	United States Navy Memorial, Washington, D.C., United States
Coordinates
Owner	National Park Service

The Lone Sailor, a 1987 bronze sculpture, is a tribute to all the personnel of the sea services. The sculpture was created by Stanley Bleifeld, for the United States Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C.

History

The face of the The Lone Sailor was inspired by that of Rear Admiral William Thompson, the first president and CEO of the Navy Memorial Foundation, which raised the funds to create the Navy Memorial. As a tribute to Thompson's work to bring the memorial to fruition, sculptor Stanley Bleifeld used photos of Thompson from his early days of service in World War II for the statue's face. As reflected in the stencil on the sculpture's seabag, Bleifeld also gave Thompson's name to the figure. The body of The Lone Sailor is modeled on then Petty Officer First Class Dan Maloney. After giving up on honor guard models, Bleifeld asked New London Submarine Base for someone more typical. As part of the casting process, the bronze for The Lone Sailor was mixed with artifacts from eight U. S. Navy ships, provided by the Naval Historical Center.

Replicas around the United States

The Lone Sailor keeps watch over USS Wisconsin

There are other copies of The Lone Sailor in memorials around the United States.

• Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USS KIDD Veterans Memorial and Museum
• Bremerton, Washington, Bremerton Marina. Dedicated May 23, 2009.
• Burlington, Vermont, Leahy Center.
• Charleston, South Carolina, Charleston Naval Memorial Park.
• Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Esplanade Park overlooking the New River.
• Great Lakes, Illinois, Great Lakes Naval Training Center.
• Jacksonville, Florida, overlooking the St. Johns River.
• Long Beach, California, overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
• Norfolk, Virginia, in Wisconsin Square standing watch over the museum ship USS Wisconsin.
• San Francisco, California, above Fort Baker.
• Waterloo, Iowa, Grout Museum.
• Washington, D.C., in the West Wing of the White House, a 24-inch replica is stationed at the entrance to the White House Mess. Presented to President Reagan in 1987 by the Navy Memorial Dedication Committee.
• West Haven, Connecticut, in Old Grove Park. The statue in West Haven, CT was donated by residents and Navy veteran, Marty DeGrand.

The United States Navy Memorial web site states there are 12 Lone Sailor statues placed in the United States, but does not list the additional locations.

See also

• List of public art in Washington, D.C., Ward 6

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons