On February 7, EB turned 120 years old, and Sam Grills has been on the job for more than half that time. A structural designer in D471, Grills now holds the record as EB’s longest-serving active employee with 62 years of service. The 81-year old joined EB in 1956, fresh out of Westerly High School.
Grills has witnessed, firsthand, EB’s entire lineup of nuclear submarines. Although he wasn’t yet an employee when Nautilus (SSN 571) launched, his older brother was; he got Grills a ticket to see the first nuclear submarine slide into the Thames river from the South Yard Ways on Jan. 21, 1954.
“The first nuclear Seawolf (SSN 575) was birthed right next to it,” said Grills. “Then, when I joined EB in 1956, the company was about six months out from launching Skate (SSN 578), the third nuclear submarine.”
Grills recalls how the company created the first ballistic-missile submarine. “They were building the 585 (Skipjack) class, when they got the contract to put the missile compartment on one of the boats. They took the 589 boat, the Scorpion, which was pretty near built on the shipyard ways, spread apart the bow and stern, and put the missile compartment in the middle. That’s how the first SSBN, USS George Washington, came to be. They built another Scorpion, which, tragically, was lost at sea in 1968.”
Grills was hired in as an apprentice draftsman, became a journeyman shipfitter and then transferred to the drawing room eight years later. “Upon reflection, I’m glad I had those eight years in the shipyard; you can’t buy experience like that,” said Grills. That experience included a few arctic-cold winters in the early 1960’s.
“Back then all the floors were dirt in the construction ways. In the winter, they would have a big coke (coal derivative) bin, for heating. You’d go in and fill a five-gallon bucket and throw it in what they called the salamander, a stove fabricated from a big barrel connected to an air hose. We’d stand in front of it, roasting on one side and freezing on the other. I’ll never forget those cold snaps.”
Grills worked on Triton, SSRN 586, the only U.S. submarine with twin nuclear reactors, and the largest submarine of its time. During her shakedown cruise, Triton successfully executed the first submerged circumnavigation of the world, following the same track as the first circumnavigation led by Ferdinand Magellan. A few years back, Grills was interviewed and filmed for the PBS documentary Triton: America’s Deep Secret, which premiered on PBS stations in the fall of 2018.
For all the EB history he’s lived, Grill’s advice for new employees hasn’t changed much over the years: “Get up, dress up, show up. Keep breathing.”
