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GEORGE H.W. BUSH AND BARBARA BUSH TO RECEIVE LEJEUNE RECOGNITION

Winning depictions of Marines in arts, writing and scholarship also announced

Triangle, VA - The Marine Corps Heritage Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of the Foundation’s 2017 Annual Awards. Former President George H. W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush will receive the Lieutenant General John A. Lejeune Recognition for Exemplary Leadership. The Heritage Award will be presented to General Walter E. Boomer, USMC (Ret), former Chairman of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation Board of Directors.
 
Fifteen additional winners will be recognized for their outstanding portrayal of Marine Corps history, traditions and culture in a broad range of fields, including photography, documentaries, journalism, poetry, nonfiction and fiction writing. The award recipients will be recognized during the Annual Awards ceremony on Saturday, April 29, at the National Museum of the Marine Corps, in Triangle, Virginia.
 
“We are pleased to honor former President George H.W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush for all that they have done for the United States during their time of service as well as their dedication to all service members and their families. Their leadership and unwavering support stand as an example for generations to come,” said Lt. Gen. Robert R. Blackman, Jr., president and CEO of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation. “All our award honorees have contributed to the preservation and promulgation of Marine Corps history through extraordinary works that tell a piece of the Marine Corps story.”
 
President Bush has demonstrated a lifetime of leadership and support of those in the U.S. military, from his own time as a highly decorated World War II Navy pilot to serving as Commander-in-Chief during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. While in the White House, President and Mrs. Bush were known for their admiration and respect for the men and women of the U.S. military. Their abiding care and compassion for those who serve continues to this day.
 
A distinguished group of judges including editors, photographers and Marine Corps personnel selected the 2017 winners. This year’s judges included Clare McLaughlin, Executive Director of Arts in the Armed Forces, a non-profit founded by Emmy-nominated actor Adam Driver. Driver enlisted in the Marine Corps following the attacks of September 11, 2011. He established Arts in the Armed Forces to bridge the military and civilian worlds through live theater. The Foundation also welcomed first-time judges Gabrielle Hoyt of the Round House Theatre and Gregg Henry of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.
 
2017 Annual Awards recipients are listed below and on the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation website. For interviews with award recipients, please contact Paulo Sibaja at psibaja@susandavis.com or 202-414-0798.

• Lieutenant General John A. Lejeune Recognition for Exemplary Leadership
  President George H.W. Bush and Former First Lady Barbara Bush
  
  
• Heritage Award
  General Walter E. Boomer, USMC (Ret)
  
  
• The Colonel Joseph Alexander Award (biography or autobiography)
  Mr. James Carl Nelson, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, for “I Will Hold: The Story of Clifton B. Cates”
   
• The Bill Broyles Award (screenplay or play)
  Ms. Elisabeth Frankel, New York City, New York, for “Shelter”
  
  
• The Sergeant Major Dan Daly Award (photography - album)
  Ms. Mindy Schauer, Irvine, California, for the photography collection, “Our Neighbors, Our Marines”  
   
• The Robert A. Gannon Award (poetry)
  Mr. John Musgrave, Baldwin City, Kansas, for the collection of poetry “Notes to the Man Who Shot Me: Vietnam War Poems”  
   
• The General Roy S. Geiger Award (published aviation article)
  The OV-10 Association for “The OV-10 Bronco: Designed for Counterinsurgency and the Vietnam War”
  
  
• The Sergeant William Genaust Award (documentary)
  Mr. Ronald Zaczek, Havre de Grace, Maryland, for “The Breaker Patrol”
  
  
• The General Wallace M. Greene, Jr. Award (non-fiction writing)
  Mr. J. Kael Weston, Salt Lake City, Utah, for “The Mirror Test”
  
  
• The Colonel Julia E. Hamblet Award (furthering the recognition of the history of Women Marines)
  Col. Marianne S. Waldrop, USMC (Ret), Carlsbad, California, for “Understanding Women Leaders in a Male Dominated Profession:  A Study of USMC Women Generals”
   
• The Major Norman Hatch Award (feature documentary)
  Lucky 8 Productions, New York, New York, for “The Unknown Flag Raiser of Iwo Jima”
  
  
• The Colonel Robert D. Heinl, Jr. Award (feature writing)
  Ms. Hope Hodge Seck, Arlington, Virginia, for “13 Years After Iraq, the Marines of ‘Generation Kill’ Regret Nothing”
  
  
• The Sergeant Major Bradley Kasal Award (photography - single)
  Mr. Isaac Ibarra, Naples, Florida, for “Field Life”
  
  
• The Colonel John Magruder Award (exhibit and historical display)
  MC Reserve Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia, for “Centennial Exhibit”
  
  
• The Brigadier General Edwin Simmons-Henry I. Shaw Award (superior historical scholarship)
  Dr. Charles Neimeyer, Quantico, Virginia, for “War in the Chesapeake: The British Campaigns to Control the Bay, 1813-1814”
   
• The General Oliver P. Smith Award (local news reporting)
  Cpl. Shaltiel Dominguez, San Francisco, California for, “Lance Corporal Segovia-Lopez Memorial Tribute”
  
  
• The Colonel John W. Thomason, Jr. Award (artwork)
  Mr. Victor Juhasz, Averill Park, New York, for his illustrations “Combat Art of Victor Juhasz”
  
  
• The James Webb Award (fiction writing)
  Mr. Maximilian Uriarte, Los Angeles, California, for “The White Donkey – Terminal Lance”

 
About the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation:
Dedicated to the preservation and promulgation of Marine Corps history, the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation was established in 1979 as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The Foundation supports the historical programs of the Marine Corps in ways not possible through government funds. The Foundation provides grants and scholarships for research and the renovation, restoration, and commissioning of historical Marine Corps artifacts and landmarks. Securing the necessary funding for the complete construction of the National Museum of the Marine Corps and Heritage Center, located in Triangle, Virginia, is the Foundation’s current primary mission while continuing to provide program support for the Corps’ historical, museum, and educational activities.