Leftwich Trophy

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Gen Hagee presents the Leftwich Trophy to Capt Bronzi in 2005. Leftwich trophy.PNG
Gen Hagee presents the Leftwich Trophy to Capt Bronzi in 2005.

The Leftwich Trophy, also known as the Leftwich Award, is a trophy given for outstanding leadership and is an award presented annually in memory of Lieutenant Colonel William Groom Leftwich, United States Marine Corps, who was killed in action during the Vietnam War in November 1970.

Contents

Eligible nominees are Marine Captains in the ground combat element serving on active duty as a company or battery commander with the ground forces of the Fleet Marine Force at the time of nomination. Posthumous awards can be made of this award providing nomination complies with all the criteria for receiving the award. Selection is done by a board of senior officers chaired by the Deputy Commandant of Plans, Policy and Operations (DC, PP&O), who then after reviewing the applicants, makes recommendation to the Commandant of the Marine Corps for his final approval.

The trophy is provided to the Marine Corps through an endowment by the H. Ross Perot Foundation; Leftwich and Perot were classmates at the United States Naval Academy. The trophy itself was designed by Felix de Weldon, designer of the Marine Corps War Memorial in Washington, D.C. The Leftwich Trophy, a replica of the statue commemorating the service and leadership of LtCol Leftwich, was first presented in June 1979 at the commissioning ceremony for the USS Leftwich (DD-984).

The Marine Corps bestowed the first posthumous Leftwich Trophy to Captain John W. Maloney, [1] who was killed on 16 June 2005 when the unit he was leading was ambushed in a small town south of Ramadi, Iraq. [2]

Recipients

YearRankNameUnit
1979Captain Clyde S. Brinkley, Jr. [3] 2d Battalion, 2d Marines
1980Captain Charles R. Sherrill [3] 2d Tank Battalion
1981CaptainJohn Caldwell [3] 32d MAU
1982Captain Dirk R. Ahle [3] 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines
1983Captain Ronald L. King [3] 3d Battalion, 12th Marines
1984Captain Robert K. Dobson, Jr. [3] 2d Battalion, 8th Marines, 22d MAU
1985Captain Dennis J. Hejlik [3] 3d Battalion, 8th Marines
1986Captain David W. Mauldin [3] 2d Battalion, 8th Marines
1987Captain Paul E. Lefebvre [3] 2d Battalion, 9th Marines
1988Captain John R. Allen [3] 3d Battalion, 4th Marines
1989Captain James B. Laster [3] 1st Battalion, 25th Marines
1990Captain Ronald F. Baczkowski [3] 3d Battalion, 1st Marines
1991Captain Dennis M. Greene [3] 2d LAR Battalion
1992Captain Michael L. Ettore [3] 1st Battalion, 8th Marines
1993Captain Robert F. Castellvi [3] BLT 2/9, 15th MEU
1994Captain Steven M. Zotti [3] BLT 1/6, 22d MEU
1995Captain Jeffery J. Sharrock [3] 3d MarDiv
1996Captain Jeffery J. Kenney [3] 2d Battalion, 2d Marines
1997Captain Julian D. Alford [3] 3d Battalion, 8th Marines
1998Captain Jason Q. Bohm [3] 2d Battalion, 1st Marines
1999Captain Daniel M. Sullivan [3] 3d Battalion, 8th Marines
2000Captain Jason L. Morris [3] BLT 1/5, 31st MEU
2001Captain Michael D. Grice [3] 2d Battalion, 11th Marines
2002Captain Farrell J. Sullivan [3] 3d Battalion, 8th Marines
2003Captain Christeon C. Griffin [3] 3d Battalion, 1st Marines
2004Captain Christopher J. Bronzi [3] 2d Battalion, 4th Marines
2005Captain John W. Maloney [3] [1] 1st Battalion, 5th Marines
2006Captain Matthew W. Tracy [3] 2d Battalion, 3d Marines
2007Captain Jonathan Smith [3] BLT 2/4, 31st MEU
2008Captain Jonathan Hamilton [3] 1st Battalion, 9th Marines
2009Captain Christopher S. Conner [3] 2d LAR Battalion
2010Captain Timothy Ryan Sparks [3] [4] 1st Battalion, 6th Marines
2011CaptainCasey M. Brock [3] 1st Battalion, 5th Marines
2012CaptainBenjamin M. Middendorf [3] 2d Battalion, 5th Marines
2013CaptainChristopher A. Ashinhurst [3] 1st Tank Battalion
2014CaptainDaniel E. Grainger [3] 1st Battalion, 6th Marines
2015CaptainThomas W. Morrow [3] 2d Battalion, 3d Marines
2016CaptainDavid J. Palka [3] Task Force Spartan
2017CaptainGregory M. Veteto [3] 1st Battalion, 5th Marines
2018CaptainBrian D. Coleman [5] [3] Task Force Southwest
2019CaptainJoseph F. Albano Jr. [6] 1st Battalion, 6th Marines
2020CaptainMichael H. Nolan [7] 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines
2021CaptainJon D. Sanko [8] 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines
2022CaptainShan G. Mandrayar [9] BLT 2/4, 13th MEU
2023MajorMichael E. Larson [10] 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines

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References

  1. 1 2 "Leftwich Trophy for Outstanding Leadership for CY2005 (ALMAR 015/06)". United States Marine Corps.
  2. Lowe, Christian (15 May 2006). "Marine Capt. John W. Maloney". Military Times (online). Gannett Company. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 "Leftwich Trophy Recipients". United States Marine Corps History Division. May 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  4. Theen, Andrew (11 April 2011). "Exclusive combat award for Marjah Marine". Marine Corps Times . Retrieved 8 February 2013.
  5. "Marine Corps University > Research > Marine Corps History Division > People > Leftwich Trophy Recipients".
  6. "Calendar Year 2019 Ltcol William G. Leftwich Jr. Trophy for Outstanding Leadership".
  7. "Calendar Year 2020 Ltcol William G. Leftwich Jr. Trophy for Outstanding Leadership".
  8. "Calendar Year 2021 Ltcol William G. Leftwich Jr. Trophy for Outstanding Leadership".
  9. "Calendar Year 2022 Ltcol William G. Leftwich Jr. Trophy for Outstanding Leadership".
  10. "Calendar Year 2023 Ltcol William G. Leftwich Jr. Trophy for Outstanding Leadership".