Plans for lifesize USS Groton Sail Monument taking shape
Nov. 23—GROTON — The first component of a long-awaited, full-scale monument honoring the community's connection to its namesake submarine could be in place by next year.
The USS Groton Sail Monument, to be located near the Groton Public Library and the Thrive 55+ Active Living Center, will display the submarine's sail and rudder and honor the people who built and served on submarines, their families and the community in what is known as the Submarine Capital of the World.
The USS Groton Sail Foundation, Inc., the nonprofit group raising funds and planning the monument, said the goal is to put the first piece of the monument in place by Veterans Day 2024 and complete the monument as early as spring of 2025.
According to renderings from landscape architect Chad Frost of Mystic, the design features an earthen berm the same size as a full-scale submarine and several components.
A "Sail Plaza" displaying the sail and dedicated to the people who design and engineer submarines, will connect to the Underway Walk, a "walkway representing the important mission of the silent service, and the significance of the role submarines and submariners contribute to our Nation's defense."
At the end of the walk is the "Family Plaza," a "gathering place honoring the dedication and sacrifice of the families who support the service members" and which has the rudder as its centerpiece, according to the renderings.
The last piece is a "Community Connections Walk," a walkway to the library that is in honor of the "community's involvement and connection to our Nation's submarine industry" and will house the donor wall.
The monument will include interpretive signage and displays.
What it feels like on a sub
Frost said the earthen berm will convey to people the grandeur of scale of the submarine. The Underway Walk, the path that connects the sail to the rudder, is intentionally narrow with a canopy of trees overhead to give the effect of what it feels like to be on a submarine.
The monument will be illuminated at night, he said. There will be a walkway to the existing veterans memorial.
Mark Oefinger, vice chair of the foundation and retired Groton town manager, said various sites were looked at over the years before the site ― the grassy area between Route 117 and the parking area of the library and Thrive 55+ ― was chosen.
The easily accessible site is large enough to support the layout of the memorial ― replicating the length of the full-scale submarine ― and also is located at the center of Groton and what is considered "the civic core of the community," Oefinger said.
The site is also near several schools and the library, which opens up educational opportunities, said Kate Careb of Kate Careb Advancement, fundraising consultant for the project.
The USS Groton (SSN-694), which was decommissioned in 1997, "was built at Electric Boat and commissioned on July 8, 1978 with Commander R. William Vogel, III, USN in command and Master Chief Petty Officer Joseph Pow as Chief of the Boat," according to the USS Groton Sail Foundation. The submarine "deployed on its first overseas assignment in March 1980 to the Indian Ocean and completed an around the world mission in October 1980 under Commander George Emery, USN, (now retired Vice Admiral)."
Vogel and Emery discussed the idea of creating a memorial out of the sail and rudder in Groton, and Vogel later started the foundation, retired Rear Adm. John Padgett and chair of the USS Groton Sail Foundation said at a public unveiling of the site last year.
The fundraising
The foundation has raised $900,000 and runs a program in which people can donate to the monument by purchasing a paver or a memorial tree, said Careb. The fundraising goal is $2.3 million to $2.5 million, though the exact costs will be determined after a Request for Proposals, according to Rick Norris, a retired Navy commander and the project manager.
In addition, Padgett said the Naval History and Heritage Command in Washington, D.C., plans to bring the monument under the auspices of the Submarine Force Library and Museum and will remediate and renovate the sail and rudder. Careb said from a fundraising perspective, that removes $750,000 of the project cost.
Connection to community
Peter Halvordson, retired Electric Boat vice president and an executive committee member, reflected on the importance of Electric Boat and the Navy and all the people that created an industry that was indispensable during wars and the Cold War and the people who worked to save the naval base from closure.
Padgett said while the monument of the USS Groton has a local focus, it also broadly celebrates all the men and women who design and build submarines, Navy sailors and maintainers, and all the families and communities that support them.
USN Ret. Capt. G. Michael Hewitt, a member of the foundation's executive committee, said that many who built or sailed the USS Groton still call Groton home.
Hewitt said that while people don't talk much about submarines, "you cannot go far in this area without bumping into a shipmate, someone you worked with on the third shift, someone you volunteered with at church or other agencies, someone you worked with at school helping your kids or theirs."
Jim Streeter, town historian and treasurer of the foundation, said submarines are considered a "common thread" among residents of the community.
"It goes without saying that most every citizen in southeastern Connecticut has, in some way or another, either had a family member, neighbor or friend who has had some connection with the Electric Boat, the U.S. Navy Submarine Base or a company or organization related to these two groups," he said.
"This monument is about pride in our community," said the foundation's secretary, Marian Galbraith, former mayor of the City of Groton. "It's about knowing who we are and the role we play in our nation's strength. And no one in this community is more than an arm's length away from it. Not every community has that sense of identity and belonging, much less one that is so nationally significant. We aim to celebrate it."
More information about the monument and how to donate is available at www.grotonsail.com.
