You are currently viewing Groundbreaking Ceremony Marks Start of USS Groton Sail Monument
Ray Gabriel, EB vice president of strategic operations and a former Groton-based submarine officer, speaks at the groundbreaking of the USS Groton Sail Monument Oct. 9. Seated to his left are U.S. Navy Ret. Rear Adm. John Padgett, chair of USS Groton Sail Foundation; Capt. Craig Litty, commanding officer of the Naval Submarine Base; Steve Ricard, base commander of the United States Submarine Veterans Incorporated Groton Base; U.S. Rep Joe Courtney, D-2nd District; and Tony Joyce, president and CEO of Chelsea Groton Bank.

Fifty years after the USS Groton (SSN‑694) first launched, dozens gathered outside the Groton Public Library Oct. 9 to celebrate the groundbreaking of the USS Groton Sail Monument. The $6.6 million project—three decades in the making—will honor the men and women who design, build, operate and maintain the Navy’s submarines, as well as the families and communities who support them.

Representing Electric Boat, Vice President of Strategic Operations Ray Gabriel reflected on the deep ties between the submarine force and the region. Gabriel—who spent 32 years as a submarine officer, raised his family in Groton, and once served aboard the USS Groton—described the event as both a homecoming and a tribute. “This community embraces the military in a way few places do,” he said.

The monument will incorporate the original sail, rudder and fairwater planes of the USS Groton—more than 100,000 pounds of steel delivered to EB in December 2025. These components will anchor a new landscape featuring a submarine‑shaped berm, story‑telling panels and plaza spaces designed to help visitors understand both the scale of a Los Angeles‑class submarine and the contributions of the people behind it. Construction is expected to be complete in late summer or fall of 2027.

“This monument will serve as a testament to the enduring submarine community,” said Capt. Craig Litty, commanding officer of Naval Submarine Base New London.

EB shipbuilders have contributed 2,000 labor hours this year as part of a $2.5 million in‑kind donation to the memorial effort, work that also supports training for new welders and tradespeople.

Individual teams are also making contributions. EB’s Ship Signature Department, D462, raised $1,300 to support the monument. The team will be recognized with a wall inscription, along with a paver inscribed: “In Honor of Submariners and their Families.”

Local, state and federal leaders spoke to the significance of the moment. Rep. Joe Courtney praised the region’s shipbuilding workforce. Sen. Richard Blumenthal reflected on Groton’s legacy as the “Submarine Capital of the World” and noted that the next USS Groton, SSBN‑828, will carry that legacy forward.

Click here to learn more about the memorial and to make a donation.

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