2007 Lone Sailor Awards Dinner

Save the Date!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Great Hall at the National Building Museum
401 F Street N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20001

Click here to download the 2007 Lone Sailor Awards Dinner Program.

This year, the United States Navy Memorial Foundation hosted its Lone Sailor Awards dinner at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, D.C. to publicly honor four Navy veterans with the Lone Sailor statue (pictured above).

Traditionally, the Lone Sailor honorees are Sea Service veterans who have distinguished themselves, drawing upon their Sea Service experience to become successful in their careers and lives, while exemplifying the core values of honor, courage and commitment. 

More than 800 Sea Service veterans, defense industry executives, Navy and Marine Corps active duty and Navy Memorial members attended the black tie event on October 29, 2007.

The 2007 Lone Sailor Award Recipients:

Paul Tagliabue, former NFL Commissioner (L); Tom Benson (C); and Rear Adm. Richard Buchanan, USN (Ret.)(R)

Tom Benson
As the owner of the New Orleans Saints, Tom Benson is one of the most trusted and respected leaders in the National Football League.  Benson’s tireless support of the greater New Orleans Area made the Saints and the restoration of the Superdome a focal point in the recovery effort after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Having served in the Navy in 1945, he was also a major contributor to the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., the National D-Day Museum in New Orleans and the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida.

Rear Adm. Bill Thompson, USN (Ret.)(L); Morgan L. Fitch, Jr., Esq. (C); and Rear Adm. Richard Buchanan, USN (Ret.)(R)

Morgan L. Fitch, Jr., Esq.
As a radar officer in VC-87, Morgan L. Fitch Jr., Esq., survived two kamikaze attacks on escort carriers to which he was assigned in WWII.  He is a founding partner at Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery, a leading patent law firm based in Chicago, Illinois. He served as the National President of the Navy League of the United States 1965-1967 and is responsible for the creation of the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps, whose youth leaders now receive the prestigious Morgan Fitch Award. 

On behalf of Stan Musial: Frank Mankiewicz (L) and Lou Brock (C-R) with Congressman Ike Skelton (C-L) and Rear Adm. Richard Buchanan, USN (Ret.)(R).

Stan Musial
Stan Musial, nicknamed “Stan the Man,” played 22 seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1941 to 1963 with a career batting average of .331. He played in a record number of all-star games (22) by the end of his career. He was Sports Illustrated magazine’s Sportsman of the Year in 1957. In 1963, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame during his first year of eligibility. In 1999, The Sporting News ranked him number 10 on the list of the all-time 100 Greatest Baseball Players. He served in the Navy during WWII from 1945 to 1946, missing the 1945 season to serve as a seaman.  He has been a strong personal supporter of many St. Louis charities.

Charles Bowsher, former Comptroller General of the U.S. (L); Senator John W. Warner, Jr. (C); and Rear Adm. Richard Buchanan, USN (Ret.)(R)

Senator John W. Warner, Jr. (R-VA)
Sen. John Warner is a member of the select group of U.S. senators who served in the armed forces during the Second World War. He enlisted in the Navy in January 1945, shortly before his 18th birthday. He served until the following year, leaving as a petty officer third class. He then joined the Marine Corps in October 1950, after the outbreak of the Korean War, and served in Korea as a ground officer with the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. He continued in the Marine Corps Reserves after the war, eventually reaching the rank of captain. In February 1969, Warner was appointed Undersecretary of the Navy in the Nixon administration. He was elected to the Senate in 1978 and is the second-longest serving senator in Viginia's history, behind only Harry F. Byrd, Sr., and is by far the longest-serving Republican Senator from that state.

Click here for a list of past awardees.

Read the 2007 Lone Sailor Awards Dinner press release for more details. 

Click here to view our Lone Sailor Awards Dinner photo gallery.

For more information, please contact:
David Jonas (202) 380-0741
or email: davidjonas@navymemorial.org