Groton’s planned submarine monument reached a milestone October 9, when about 200 people gathered for a ceremonial groundbreaking, according to an October 16 Patch report citing a statement.
The site beside Groton Public Library along Route 117 is intended to display the retired USS Groton’s sail and rudder. The foundation describes the project as a tribute to submarine designers, builders, crews and maintainers, and the families and communities supporting them.
The USS Groton, hull number SSN-694, was built at Electric Boat and commissioned July 8, 1978, according to the foundation’s history. It was decommissioned November 7, 1997.
Electric Boat’s restoration support predates this month’s ceremony. An April 7, 2025 report by The Day, republished by Connecticut’s Office of Military Affairs, described a donation of 25,000 labor hours valued at approximately $2.5 million. That is not a newly announced October 2026 cash award.
The groundbreaking does not mean the monument is open or completed. A current completion or dedication date was not established by the sources reviewed.