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Marine Corps Heritage Foundation Announces 2020 Awards for Outstanding Portrayals of Marine Corps in Media, Art, Literature and Scholarly Research

Triangle, Va. (June 17, 2020) – The Marine Corps Heritage Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of the Foundation’s 2020 Annual Awards. Nineteen honorees were selected from a record number of entries. The recipients will be honored at the Foundation’s Annual Awards Dinner later this year.
 
Among the award winners are General James N. Mattis, USMC (Ret) and Marine Corps veteran and distinguished author Bing West for their book Call Sign Chaos; The Washington Post’s Dan Lamothe for dispatch reporting; and The Wall Street Journal’s Michael Phillips for feature writing. 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 are accomplished professionals who have used their extraordinary talents to tell a piece of the Marine Corps story,” said MajGen James Kessler, USMC (Ret), president and CEO of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation. “Their outstanding work exposes our nation to the history, tradition and culture of the Marine Corps and we look forward to giving them the recognition they deserve.”
 
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, 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.
 
2020 Annual Awards recipients are listed below. For interviews with award recipients, please contact Matt Morrissey at mmorrissey@susandavis.com or 617-435-5424.

The Colonel Joseph Alexander Award (biography or autobiography)
Dr. Joseph Arthur Simon for “The Greatest of All Leathernecks: John Archer Lejeune and the Making of the Modern Marine Corps”
Shreveport, Louisiana

The Master Sergeant Tom Bartlett Award (feature writing by an Enlisted Marine)
LCpl Ryan Hageali, USMC for “A Marine's Mom”
Port Royal, South Carolina

​The Bill Broyles Award (drama)
Mr. Allston James for “A Hill in Time”
Carmel, California  

The Sergeant Major Dan Daly Award (photojournalism-album)
Mr. Lucian Read for “All of Which I Saw”
Brooklyn, New York

The Robert A. Gannon Award (poetry)
Mr. Justin T. Eggen for “The Sun Rises in Helmand”
Lantana, Florida

The General Roy S. Geiger Award (published aviation article)
MSgt Jeff Dacus, USMCR (Ret) for “Don't Strafe Kahili”
Vancouver, Washington

The Sergeant William Genaust Award (documentary)
CWO3 Michael Kropiewnicki, USMC for “MCB Hawaii-Warrior Genesis”
Kailua, Hawaii  

The General Wallace M. Greene, Jr. Award (non-fiction writing)
Mr. James H. Hallas for “Saipan: The Battle that Doomed Japan in World War II”
Portland, Connecticut

The Major Norman Hatch Award (feature documentary)
Co-directors Ms. Laura Froidefond & Mr. Antoine Favre for “The Devil Dogs”
Paris, France

The Colonel Robert D. Heinl, Jr. Award (feature writing)
Mr. Michael M. Phillips for “The Bravest Thing Col Randy Hoffman Ever Did Was to Stop Fighting”
Washington, D.C.

The Sergeant Major Bradley Kasal Award (photojournalism - single)
Cpl Dalton Swanbeck, USMC for “Darkhorse”
Bay City, Michigan

Major Megan McClung Award (reporting on U.S. Marines abroad)
Mr. Dan Lamothe for “Maybe This is How Vietnam Vets Felt”
Alexandria, Virginia

The Eugene Sledge Award (memoir)
General James Mattis & Mr. Bing West for “Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead”  

The General Oliver P. Smith Award (local news reporting)
Ms. Erika Ritchie for “Marines Who Went to ‘Hell and Back’ Nearly 10 Years Ago Rely on Camaraderie, Community to Heal”
Laguna Beach, California 

The Colonel John W. Thomason, Jr. Award (combat art)
Mr. John Deckert for his wide range of Marine Corps art from 2017-2019
Santa Rosa, California

The James Webb Award (fiction writing)
Mr. Carlos G. Cooper for “Chain of Command”
College Grove, Tennessee 
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About the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation
Dedicated to the preservation and promulgation of Marine Corps history, culture and traditions, and the education of all American of its virtues, 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.