First Ashore Naked Warrior (2016) The “Naked Warrior,” as named by sculptor John Seward Johnson II, is a Navy combat swimmer wearing shorts, fins and a face mask. The City Council accepted the gift from the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce, Florida. The statue also honors all maritime commando units that have provided the same skills and support found in today’s U.S. Navy SEAL teams. The statue is approximately six feet tall and mounted on a two-foot “horned scully,” a type of boat obstacle that was placed on beaches to prevent Allied amphibious landings. Nicknamed “Naked Warriors” for their lack of clothing and equipment, these frogmen would swim into enemy waters from far offshore to reconnoiter heavily defended beaches without weapons or support. They would return with explosives to destroy any natural or man-made obstacles they found that might impede Allied amphibious landings. The City constructed the statue’s base and installed the landscaping required at the site near the Glorietta Bay Boat Launch Ramp. Site preparation and installation completed with a dedication ceremony on Veterans Day. Currently, there are three “Naked Warrior” statues, one in Fort Pierce, Florida, one in Waimanalo Beach in Hawaii, and the newest installation in Virginia Beach, Virgina. Prior to this sculpture there was no monument in the community commemorating U.S. Navy SEALs and their unique culture, history and connection to Coronado.
