Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus presented actor Eric Dane with a shadowbox to commemorate Dane's father's service in the Navy at a screening of the Season Two premiere of the show "The Last Ship" at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., July 12.

Dane is a producer for the show, which will air on TNT (Turner Network Television), and also plays the leading role of Commanding Officer Capt. Tom Chandler.

Hundreds of service members also attended the screening along with one of the series creators, Steven Kane. The special premiere was open to service members, who got a chance to meet with Dane before the showing.

"I'm here because I love Washington, I love the Navy and the opportunity to premiere the two-hour season premiere for the Navy, there's not a better crowd to watch this with," said Dane.

Mabus kicked off the event by thanking TNT, Kane and Dane for their work on the series and the effort they put into the show.

"Thank you all so much, number one, for getting it right," said Mabus. "You took the time, you put in the effort, you got the platforms right and, more importantly, you got our Sailors and you learned our culture."

Dane echoed Mabus' feelings on the show and said many times the Sailors do a better job than the actors.

"Anytime we can use a Sailor in the show, we do," said Dane. "I think our relationship with the United States Navy is very important and I have a tremendous amount of respect for them."

Dane's father was an aviation boatswain's mate who joined the service in 1967 and was assigned to Patrol Squadron (VP) 46. Dane's father served in Vietnam and was awarded the Vietnam Service Medal. The shadowbox included a flag that was flown over the Pentagon.

"I'm proud to be doing this for a number of reasons, one of them being it's a nice nod to my dad," said Dane of his involvement with show. "My father passed away when I was very young so I think it's kind of a nice homage to him that I'm playing the captain of a Naval destroyer."