Veteran’s Day – Nov. 11, 2022

Standing watch over the Pacific Ocean and Long Beach Harbor at Bluff Park resides the venerated and iconic Lone Sailor statue. This life-sized bronze figure at Paloma Avenue and Ocean Boulevard has graced the bluff for over 18 years.

Dedicated on the 229th anniversary of United States Navy on Oct. 13, 2004, it honored the men and women who gave their lives on Dec. 7, 1941, and salutes the brave military personnel and veterans who made Long Beach their homes. It was also reminiscent of Long Beach’s long history of being a Navy town. The Long Beach sailor is a replica of an original, created by Stanley Bleifeld in 1987, that is located at the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The Long Beach Lone Sailor was especially unique since it was the only one that overlooked the ocean. But, as recent as 2019, a replica was installed looking out to the English Channel at Normandy and Utah Beach.

This French location is the site of a 1944 landing by U.S. Navy SEALs, one of the most daring operations of World War II. Their mission was to destroy mines and clear the way for D-Day Allied forces landings. They came ashore in the dark from the cold waters of the channel and worked through the night. Their sacrifice made D-Day and eventually the final defeat of Hitler’s war machine possible.