NAVY LEAGUE of the United States FORT LAUDERDALE COUNCIL
LONE SAILOR STATUE PROJECT Honoring Sea Services... Past... Present... Future... DEDICATION CEREMONY OCTOBER 14, 2006 10AM ESPLANADE PARK, FORT LAUDERDALE, FL
WHO
Navy League of the United States was founded in 1902 with the encouragement of President Theodore Roosevelt; the Navy League is unique among military-oriented associations in that it is a civilian organization dedicated to the education of our citizens, including our elected officials, and the support of the men and women in the sea services as well as their families. The Navy League has over 65,000 members in 270 Councils around the world; one need not have served in the military to be a member of the Navy League.
The Navy League is a non-profit organization as defined within Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Fort Lauderdale Council has been greeting military ships of all Navies arriving in Port Everglades for over 50 years, earning a reputation for Fort Lauderdale as the “best liberty Port in the world.” In the past two years, Fort Lauderdale Council has provided over $160,000 for Sea Cadet and NJROTC programs in our community.
LONE SAILOR PROJECT The Fort Lauderdale Council has been raising funds to donate this patriotic statue to South Florida expressing appreciation to the men and women across the globe in the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and U.S.-Flag Merchant Marine, who voluntarily put their lives in harms way to protect freedom. The statue is meant to inspire youth and honor sea service men and women and their families.... past... present... and future. THE STATUE The bronze statue is the creation of Stanley Bleifeld, the U.S. Navy Memorial’s official sculptor. The statue contains two pieces: the Sailor, who stands 7 feet tall and weighs approximately 1000 lbs, and his sea bag and cleat weighing 700 lbs. Currently there are eight Lone Sailor sites: one in Washington, DC; two in California, San Diego and San Francisco; two in Norfolk, Virginia; one in Great Lakes, Illinois; one in West Haven, Connecticut; and one in Kirkland, Washington. 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 curator for the Navy in the Naval Historical Center at the Washington Navy Yard. The ships span the Navy’s history, yielding small pieces of copper sheeting, spikes, hammock hooks and other fragments from the post-revolutionary frigates the Constitution (“Old Ironsides”) and the Constellation; the steamer Hartford, flagship of Admiral David G. Farragut in the Civil War era; the battleship USS Maine; the iron-hulled steamer/sailing ship USS Ranger; the World War II-era cruiser USS Biloxi and the aircraft carrier USS Hancock, and the nuclear-powered submarine USS Seawolf. One last addition was a personal decoration from today’s Navy, one given to sailors in war and peace, the National Defense Service Medal. These bits of metal are now part of the Lone Sailor.
STATUE LOCATION The Fort Lauderdale Council received approval to erect the Lone Sailor Statue at the Riverwalk, west of Esplanade Park in the downtown Fort Lauderdale Arts & Entertainment District, near the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, the Museum of Discovery & Science, and the Museum of Art. The City of Fort Lauderdale will maintain the statue and site after its dedication. The Lone Sailor site is available for use by all services, veterans’ organizations, and civic groups for appropriate special events, ceremonies and patriotic services. Over 1.5 million people visit this area annually. FUNDRAISING Contributions cover the cost of site development/installation/improvement and the dedication ceremony. The Project Committee is in the final phase of fundraising. All donations are tax-deductible and should be payable to “Lone Sailor Fund” and mailed to the address below.
DEDICATION The Lone Sailor Dedication Ceremony took place on October 14, 2006 at 10AM at Esplanade Park, hosted by Navy League of the United States Fort Lauderdale Council and Congressman E. Clay Shaw, Jr. The Dedication Ceremony and events were free and open to the public. Invitations were extended to the community at large and all military and sea services members and families, veterans and civic organizations and youth groups. For information see www.NLUSLoneSailor.org
Navy League of the United States – Fort Lauderdale Council / Lone Sailor Project
c/o Dolph & Patricia Du Mont ● Chairmen, Lone Sailor Dedication Ceremony