“We honor your service.” Groton Sail Monument site unveiled
September 20, 2022

(From The Day of New London)
Groton ― The future USS Groton Sail Monument will celebrate the contributions of all the men and women who design, build, operate and maintain submarines, and the families and communities who support them, said Retired Rear Adm. John Padgett, the chairman of the USS Groton Sail Foundation.
Although the monument will feature the sail and rudder of the USS Groton and be located in Groton, the submarine capital of the world, it is really a tribute to all involved in submarines, in shipyards from Hawaii to Maine, he said.
Padgett stood Monday afternoon at the future site of the monument, adjacent to the Groton Public Library in the grassy area along Route 117, before about 30 community members, local officials, and representatives of the Navy, during a ceremony to publicly unveil the site and formally mark the start of the project.
State Sen. Heather Somers, R-Groton, recounted a story of how she recently was at an event with volunteers from the submarine base.
She spoke with a young woman who initially didn’t like Groton, but said she now is starting to become part of the community and loves it here and wanted to stay in Groton for the next four years.
Somers and the young woman spoke about how suitable it was to have a monument for the military community to show how awesome it is and that it is the submarine capital of the world.
“We want to thank people who have been in the service,” Somers said. “We want you to come back here with your families and we want you to know that we honor you and we honor your service.”