‘Lone Sailor’ statue in Voinovich Park to welcome Navy’s new combat ship, USS Cleveland

CLEVELAND, Ohio – A monument dedicated to those who serve in the U.S. Navy is slated for downtown Cleveland’s lakefront – just in time watch over the planned commissioning of the USS Cleveland.

Cleveland City Council this week signed off plans to erect the “Lone Sailor” monument on the northwest corner of Voinovich Park, overlooking Lake Erie.

One of several such statues across the United States, the “Lone Sailor” pays tribute to the men and women of the U.S. Navy. It depicts a sailor, hands-in-pocket, staring out over the water.

The monument is expected to be erected at Voinovich Park by 2025, when the Navy plans to hold a ceremony in downtown Cleveland to commission its newest combat ship, called the USS Cleveland. The ship is currently under construction in Wisconsin.

Planning for the statue started back in 2021, when a group of veterans, business leaders and others unveiled it at its temporary location at the Great Lakes Science Center.

It’s a replica of the “Lone Sailor” monument at the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington D.C., which was designed by sculptor Stanley Bleifeld, who was a sailor in World War II. Since the original was erected more than 30 years ago, 17 replicas have been added around the country. Cleveland’s statue, to be maintained by the USS Cleveland Legacy Foundation, is the 18th.

City Council had to sign off because Voinovich Park is city-owned land, and a licensing agreement was required to allow the foundation to keep and maintain the statue at the proposed location for the next 25 years.

In addition to the statue itself, the foundation intends to spruce up the area around it with new pavers, four new benches, and two landscaping walls that will bear the name of donors. The city Planning Commission will have to approve those designs.