Return to Press Room

Marine Corps Heritage Foundation 
2018 Annual Awards Recognize Outstanding Portrayal of Marine Corps History 

Notable authors, Washington Post reporter among honorees 

Triangle, Va. (April 16, 2018) – The Marine Corps Heritage Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of the Foundation’s 2018 Annual Awards. Seventeen honorees were selected from the greatest number of entries received since the awards program was created. The recipients will be honored at the Foundation’s Annual Awards Gala on April 28, 2018 at the National Museum of the Marine Corps. 

Among the award winners are distinguished authors Jeff Shaara and Mark Bowden; Washington Post reporter Dan Lamothe, and other writers, artists and photographers from New York to California. 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. 
 
“All 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 Lt. Gen. Robert R. Blackman, Jr., president and CEO of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation. “We congratulate them and thank them for their fine work and contributions in sharing the ongoing history of our Corps.”

The Marine Corps Heritage Foundation’s Annual Awards program recognizes exemplary work that furthers the understanding of Marine Corps history, traditions, culture and service. Judged by Marines and civilian experts, the 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 $1,000 cash prize, medallion and a commemorative brick along the Semper Fidelis Memorial Park pathway adjacent to the National Museum of the Marine Corps. 

2018 Annual Awards recipients are listed below and on the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation website. For interviews with award recipients, please contact Paulo Sibaja at [email protected] or 202-414-0798. 

• The Colonel Joseph Alexander Award (biography or autobiography)
  Dr. Fred H. Allison for "We Were Going to Win or Die There: Marines at Guadalcanal, Tarawa & Saipan"
  Spotsylvania, Virginia
  
  
• The Bill Broyles Award (drama) 
  Mr. Allston James for "The Tree Talk"
  New York, New York
  
  
• The Sergeant Major Dan Daly Award (photography - album)
  Mr. Ashley Gilbertson for the photography collection "Bedrooms of the Fallen" 
  New York, New York
  
  
• The Robert A. Gannon Award (poetry) 
  Mr. David Rose for "From Sand and Time: Poems"
  Orlando, Florida
  
  
• The General Roy S. Geiger Award (published aviation article) 
  Col Richard Camp USMC (Ret) for “A Shattered Command”
  Fredericksburg, Virginia
  
  
• The Sergeant William Genaust Award (documentary) 
  CWO2 Michael Kropiewnicki USMC for "History of Camp Lejeune"
  Kailua, Hawaii
  
  
• The General Wallace M. Greene, Jr. Award (non-fiction writing) 
  Mr. Mark Bowden for "Hue 1968, A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam"
  Oxford, Pennsylvania 
  
  
• The Colonel Julia E. Hamblet Award (furthering the recognition of the history of Women Marines)
  Sgt Casey Shea Craven USMC for historic research on Opha May Johnson
  Fort Meade, Maryland
  
  
• The Major Norman Hatch Award (feature documentary)
  Mr. Steven L. Smith for “George W. Ruth, American Marine WWI”
  Centennial, Colorado
  
  
• The Colonel Robert D. Heinl, Jr. Award (feature writing)
  Mr. Dan Lamothe for “Brothers in Arms”
  Alexandria, Virginia
  
  
• The Sergeant Major Bradley Kasal Award (photography - single) 
  Mr. Paul Rodriguez for “Brothers in Arms”
  Orange, California
  
  
• The Colonel John Magruder Award (exhibit and historical display) 
  2d Battalion, 8th Marines for “What is Your Legacy?”
  Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
  
  
• The Brigadier General Edwin Simmons-Henry I. Shaw Award (USMC History Division)
  Ms. Annette Amerman for the History Division’s WWI symposium and publications
  Quantico, Virginia
  
  
• Major Megan McClung Award (reporting by an individual covering U.S. Marines abroad) 
  Vice News Tonight on HBO for “Inside the Marines' fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan”
  Brooklyn, New York
  
  
• The General Oliver P. Smith Award (local news reporting) 
  Ms. Erika Ritchie for “Southern California educators endure 5-day boot camp”
  Laguna Beach, California
  
  
• The Colonel John W. Thomason, Jr. Award (artwork)
  Mr. Kris Kuksi for his sculptures “Nation's Call, Wages in Will, At Their Core”
  Lawrence, Kansas
  
  
• The James Webb Award (fiction writing)
  Mr. Jeff Shaara for “The Frozen Hours”
  Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

 
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.