A ‘Lone Sailor’ statue is now in place at Normandy

Blake Stilwell
Jun 24, 2021 11:51 PM PDT
1 minute read
Navy photo

SUMMARY

It’s a sight seen all over the United States; a bronze casting of a sailor waiting by the ocean, next to a single duffel bag. His hands are in his pockets, his eyes are out to sea. The statue is a replica of the original Lone Sailor created for the…

It's a sight seen all over the United States; a bronze casting of a sailor waiting by the ocean, next to a single duffel bag. His hands are in his pockets, his eyes are out to sea. The statue is a replica of the original Lone Sailor created for the Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C. He stands watch over the Pearl Harbor Memorial and the Pacific Ocean from Long Beach, Calif. in the West, the USS Wisconsin in the North, Charleston in the southeast, and West Haven Connecticut in the northeastern United States, and many more.

Now, for the first time, he has the watch outside the U.S., looking out to the English Channel over what was once called Utah Beach.


Long Beach, Calif. Lone Sailor memorial.

 

In the early morning hours of June 6, 1944, U.S. Navy Frogmen – combat demolition units, forerunners to the modern-day Navy SEALs – landed on the shores of Hitler's vaunted Fortress Europe. It was the first mission of Operation Overlord, the largest amphibious landing in history, and the most daring operation of World War II. Their mission was to destroy mines and clear obstacles and barriers, to clear the way for the D-Day landings.

They came ashore in the dark from the cold waters of the channel, outnumbered and outgunned to work through the night to give the U.S. 1st Army division the fighting chance they needed to capture those beaches. Their hard work and sacrifice is being honored with the first "Lone Sailor" outside the United States.

The original Lone Sailor at Washington, D.C.'s Navy Memorial. (Wikimedia Commons)

 

The Lone Sailor Memorial is a way to honor such deserving sacrifices. Since its 1987 debut at the Washington Navy Memorial, the statue has been replicated 15 times throughout various areas of significance in the U.S., including the Great Lakes Naval Training Center – where all Navy recruits pass to begin their career.

"This statue will serve as a reminder of the historic day the United States and Allies arrived from the sea to free the world from tyranny and repression, forging a lasting relationship with the people of Saint- Marie-Du-Mont, the first city to be liberated in France during WWII," said Adm. James G. Foggo III, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa, at the statue's dedication ceremony on June 6, 2019, 75 years after the landings took place.

Retired Rear Adm. Frank Thorp IV holds a miniature version of the "Lone Sailor" statue during a United States Navy Memorial and Frogmen Association of Utah Beach dedication ceremony in Normandy, France, June 6, 2019. (U.S. Navy photo by Jonathan Nelson)

 

This latest iteration of the statue will stand on the plaza at the Utah Beach Museum, where the United States' invasion first appeared the morning of June 6, 1944, looking out to sea as a sign of respect to all the sea service personnel who passed through here on D-Day as well as those who served in the decades after through today.

"The Frogmen swam ashore to the beaches of Normandy to make them safer for the follow-on wave of Allied forces," said Foggo. "The Lone Sailor statue is a reminder to honor and remember their bravery and to act as a link from the past to the present as we continue to protect the same values they fought to protect."

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