January 21, 1954, was an historic day for the United States Navy. On that cold January day 60 years ago, the Navy launched the USS Nautilus, the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine, at Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut. It was a big day for my dad too. He was the ship’s first commanding officer.
Last weekend, noting the upcoming 60th anniversary, the New London Day published an article about the launching that explains its significance to the future of naval warfare. The article also captures the memories of several surviving crew members, in particular what it was like to slide down a long wooden platform at 17 mph and splash into the Thames River. If that wasn’t enough to make the crew nervous, the crowd of 15,000 spectators included top Navy brass and Mamie Eisenhower.
I don’t have any memories of that day, not even whether my siblings and I attended the launching. If we did we were probably watched over by a vigilant Navy babysitter as my mother had a different role to play. Dressed in a dark coat and holding a giant bouquet of flowers, she stood on the VIP platform just a few feet from where Mamie Eisenhower smashed a bottle of champagne on the ship’s hull to christen the Nautilus.
A close-up photo of the First Lady holding the broken bottle as my mother looks on is one of our most cherished family keepsakes.
I never talked to my dad about whether he was nervous that day or whether, from his perch on the bridge, the launching was his biggest thrill. Sadly he died last summer at age 94. I’m sure he was proud, but he was probably also thinking about all of the work that was left to do. In less than a year, the Nautilus was commissioned, outfitted with a nuclear reactor, and made ready to go to sea. The message noting that historic occasion was succinct: “Underway on nuclear power.”
My dad had a lot of big days in his life, professional and personal. He had a 34-year career in the Navy and later served as the first president of the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations. Plus he was married to my mother for 58 years and together they raised four kids. During his whole life he seemed to be uncommonly lucky whether it came to playing poker or making career moves.
But that January day in 1954 had to be one of the biggest.
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