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Marine Corps Heritage Foundation Announces 2019 Awards for Outstanding Portrayals of Marine Corps in Media, Art, Literature and Scholarly Research

Triangle, Va. (April 17, 2019) – The Marine Corps Heritage Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of the Foundation’s 2019 Annual Awards. Eighteen honorees were selected amongst the greatest number of entries received since the awards program was created. The recipients will be honored at the Foundation’s Annual Awards Dinner on Saturday April 27, 2019 at the National Museum of the Marine Corps. 

Among the award winners are distinguished authors Michael Archer, Hampton Sides, and Elliot Ackerman; Newsweek’s James LaPorta; Military.com reporter Hope Hodge Seck; and other writers, artists and photographers from across the country. Award winners are 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. 

“Our award honorees contribute to the preservation and promulgation of Marine Corps history through their extraordinary works that tell a piece of the Marine Corps story,” said MajGen James Kessler, USMC (Ret), president and CEO of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation. “We congratulate them and thank them for their fine work. We look forward to recognizing their contributions to sharing the ongoing story of our Corps.”
 
Judged by Marines and civilian experts, the Foundation’s Annual Awards are a mark of distinction and achievement for journalists, writers, photographers, artists and scholars. Previous winners include best-selling authors, celebrated novelists, national columnists, network producers, and Active Duty Marines with extraordinary talent. The Foundation honors their work in recognition of the difficulty and importance of accurately telling the Marine Corps story. Many past recipients have put themselves in harm’s way to witness first-hand the dangerous work of Marines operating in the world’s most remote locations.
 
Each winner receives a gold medallion award, a commemorative brick along the Semper Fidelis Memorial Park pathway adjacent to the National Museum of the Marine Corps and a cash prize if applicable.
 
2019 Annual Awards recipients are listed below. For interviews with award recipients, please contact Dan Gregory at dgregory@susandavis.com or 215-285-4137. 

​The Colonel Joseph Alexander Award (biography or autobiography)	Mr. Michael Archer for “The Gunpowder Prince: How Marine Corps Captain Mirza Munir Baig Saved Khe Sanh” Reno, Nevada
The Master Sergeant Tom Bartlett Award (feature writing by an Enlisted Marine)	Cpl Kyle Daly USMC for “The Legacy of Holland M. Smith” Placentia, California
The Bill Broyles Award (drama)	Mr. Robert M. Adams for “Place of Angels” Winfield, Illinois ​
The Sergeant Major Dan Daly Award (photojournalism-album)	Mr. Paul Rodriguez for “Proud to Serve” Orange, California
The Robert A. Gannon Award (poetry)	Mr. Justin T. Eggen for “The Art of Warrior Poetry” Lantana, Florida​
The General Roy S. Geiger Award (published aviation article)	Mr. Geoff Roecker for “2dLt Elwood R. Bailey, VMF-223” Jersey City, New Jersey
The Sergeant William Genaust Award (documentary)	SSgt Daniel D. Kujanpaa USMC for “MAWTS-1 40th Anniversary” Bonsall, California
The General Wallace M. Greene, Jr. Award (non-fiction writing)	Mr. Hampton Sides for “On Desperate Ground, The Marines at the Reservoir, the Korean War's Greatest Battle” Sante Fe, New Mexico
​The Colonel Julia E. Hamblet Award (furthering the recognition of the history of Women Marines)	Mr. Jim Moran for “They are Marines – The USMCWR in Second World War” Yorkshire, England
The Major Norman Hatch Award (feature documentary)	Ms. Georgia Braham and Ms. Justine Kershaw, Producers with Blink Films for “We’ll Meet Again: Korean War Brothers in Arms” London, United Kingdom ​
The Colonel Robert D. Heinl, Jr. Award (feature writing)	Mr. Kyle Watts for “The Flying Ladder” Chesterfield, Virginia
The Sergeant Major Bradley Kasal Award (photojournalism - single)	Cpl Santino D. Martinez USMC for “Bringin’ the Heat” Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
The Colonel John Magruder Award (exhibit and historical display)	Stars and Stripes for “The Marines and Tet: The Battle That Changed the Vietnam War” Washington, D.C.
Major Megan McClung Award (reporting on U.S. Marines abroad)	Ms. Hope Hodge Seck for “Marine Victories in Afghanistan, Iraq” Arlington, Virginia​
The Brigadier General Edwin Simmons-Henry I. Shaw Award (USMC History Division)	Dr. Christopher J. Lamb for “The Mayaguez Crisis, Mission Command, and Civil-Military Relations” Fort McNair, Washington, D.C.
The General Oliver P. Smith Award (local news reporting)	Mr. James LaPorta for “The Marine Vet Who Draws Presidents, Fallen Heroes -- and Parkland's Kids” Delray Beach, Florida
The Colonel John W. Thomason, Jr. Award (combat art)	Mr. Richard Johnson for “Alligator Dagger & Trident Juncture 2018” Mt. Airy, Maryland​
The James Webb Award (fiction writing)	Mr. Elliot Ackerman for “Waiting for Eden” New York City, New York

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. Having secured the necessary funding for the complete construction of the National Museum of the Marine Corps and Heritage Center, located in Triangle, Virginia, the Foundation’s current primary mission is to vigorously seek financial support to expand programs at the National Museum of the Marine Corps and beyond its walls. For more information, visit marineheritage.org.