The Lone Sailor Project

   In March of 2006, the Board of Directors of the United States Navy Memorial Foundation of Washington, D.C. unanimously voted to approve the request of a Lone Sailor Statue in the perfect place of honor: Put-in-Bay, Ohio, the site of Perry’s Victory in the Battle of Lake Erie on September 10, 1813. This request was made by one of the Navy’s own, Lt. Commander Vernon Schill, who passed away on August 26, 2006.
   The Lone Sailor is a composite of the U.S. Navy bluejacket, past, present and future. “He is the classic American sailor. The statue looks like bronze, but there is plenty of salt, paint, sweat, fuel oil and courage stirred in.”
   The founders of the Navy Memorial envisioned this Lone Sailor at 25 years old at most, a senior second class petty officer who is fast becoming a seagoing veteran. He has done it all — fired his weapons in a dozen wars, weighed anchor from a thousand ports, tracked supplies, doused fires, repelled boarders, typed in quadruplicate and mess-cooked, too. He has made liberty call in great cities and tiny villages, where he played tourist, ambassador, missionary to the poor, adventurer, souvenir shopper and friend to new lands. His shipmates remember him with pride and tell their grandchildren stories, some of which, like him, are seven feet tall.
   There are currently eight Lone Sailor statues in the United States. They have become focal points in their respective communities for patriotic and civic ceremonies, for maritime heritage opportunities, for veterans’ gatherings, and for similar events. This Lone Sailor statue at Put-in-Bay would be connected to the headquarters in Washington and would possibly include an electronic kiosk for information.
   In 2006, the Lake Erie Islands Historical Society of Put-in-Bay, Ohio, started the Lone Sailor Fund with an initial donation from Vernon and Anita Schill. The program is under a five year plan with the hope to have the statue in place by the 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Lake Erie on September 10, 2013.
   If you can help bring this worthy icon to the great state of Ohio and the shores of Lake Erie, please send your donation to:
       Lone Sailor Fund, c/o LEIHS, P.O. Box 25, Put-in-Bay, Oh 43456.
The L.E.I.H.S. is a tax exempt organization per section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Your gift qualifies for deductibility within the limits provided by law.