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.
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 .
The Marine Corps bestowed the first posthumous Leftwich Trophy to Captain John W. Maloney, who was killed on 16 June 2005 when the unit he was leading was ambushed in a small town south of Ramadi, Iraq.
Recipients Year Rank Name Unit1979 Captain Clyde S. Brinkley, Jr. 2d Battalion, 2d Marines1980 Captain Charles R. Sherrill 2d Tank Battalion1981 Captain John Caldwell 32d MAU1982 Captain Dirk R. Ahle 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines1983 Captain Ronald L. King 3d Battalion, 12th Marines1984 Captain Robert K. Dobson, Jr. 2d Battalion, 8th Marines, 22d MAU1985 Captain Dennis J. Hejlik 3d Battalion, 8th Marines1986 Captain David W. Mauldin 2d Battalion, 8th Marines1987 Captain Paul E. Lefebvre 2d Battalion, 9th Marines1988 Captain John R. Allen 3d Battalion, 4th Marines1989 Captain James B. Laster 1st Battalion, 25th Marines1990 Captain Ronald F. Baczkowski 3d Battalion, 1st Marines1991 Captain Dennis M. Greene 2d LAR Battalion1992 Captain Michael L. Ettore 1st Battalion, 8th Marines1993 Captain Robert F. Castellvi BLT 2/9, 15th MEU1994 Captain Steven M. Zotti BLT 1/6, 22d MEU1995 Captain Jeffery J. Sharrock 3d MarDiv1996 Captain Jeffery J. Kenney 2d Battalion, 2d Marines1997 Captain Julian D. Alford 3d Battalion, 8th Marines1998 Captain Jason Q. Bohm 2d Battalion, 1st Marines1999 Captain Daniel M. Sullivan 3d Battalion, 8th Marines2000 Captain Jason L. Morris BLT 1/5, 31st MEU2001 Captain Michael D. Grice 2d Battalion, 11th Marines2002 Captain Farrell J. Sullivan 3d Battalion, 8th Marines2003 Captain Christeon C. Griffin 3d Battalion, 1st Marines2004 Captain Christopher J. Bronzi 2d Battalion, 4th Marines2005 Captain John W. Maloney 1st Battalion, 5th Marines2006 Captain Matthew W. Tracy 2d Battalion, 3d Marines2007 Captain Jonathan Smith BLT 2/4, 31st MEU2008 Captain Jonathan Hamilton 1st Battalion, 9th Marines2009 Captain Christopher S. Conner 2d LAR Battalion2010 Captain Timothy Ryan Sparks 1st Battalion, 6th Marines2011 Captain Casey M. Brock 1st Battalion, 5th Marines2012 Captain Benjamin M. Middendorf 2d Battalion, 5th Marines2013 Captain Christopher A. Ashinhurst 1st Tank Battalion2014 Captain Daniel E. Grainger 1st Battalion, 6th Marines2015 Captain Thomas W. Morrow 2d Battalion, 3d Marines2016 Captain David J. Palka Task Force Spartan2017 Captain Gregory M. Veteto 1st Battalion, 5th Marines2018 Captain Brian D. Coleman Task Force Southwest2019 Captain Joseph F. Albano Jr. 1st Battalion, 6th Marines2020 Captain Michael H. Nolan 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines2021 Captain Jon D. Sanko 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines2022 Captain Shan G. Mandrayar BLT 2/4, 13th MEU2023 Major Michael E. Larson 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines2024 Captain Stephen P. Knego 3d Marine Littoral Regiment
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