130 Sailors Make it Home for the Holidays

More than 130 sailors are home for the holidays following the USS Missouri’s homecoming on Friday.

The Virginia-class attack submarine returned to the Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton on Dec. 20 after a maiden voyage of six months at sea.

The crew arrived at the base and were greeted by loved ones waiting with teddy bears, flowers and candy canes, according to Submarine Group 2 Public Affairs Lt. Timothy Hawkins.

Three crew members became fathers while away at sea, Hawkins said. One child was born just five days before the submarine’s return.

The sub left the Groton base for the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations on June 18 and stopped in Norway, Scotland and England. It was one of eight based in the East Coast that departed for a six-month voyage this year.

Three of those eight subs – the USS Scranton, based in Norfolk; and the Groton-based USS Virginia and USS San Juan – are still at sea through the holidays.

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