‘Welcome Home Daddy': USS Missouri Arrives in Groton

It was a day of tears, laughter and pure joy as the USS Missouri came home to the Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton on Wednesday after six months at seas.

Newborn Carson Hammer was waiting to meet his dad. He was born while his father, Nuclear Machinist Second Class Christopher Hammer, was overseas on the USS Missouri. It was Hammer’s first deployment. But he was able to FaceTime with Carson the day he was born.

"It’s his little twin. I mean, he looks just like him," Rachael Hammer, Christopher’s wife, said about baby Carson.

She dressed Carson in a onesie that read, "Welcome home daddy. I’ve waited my whole life to meet you."

On Wednesday, a crew of 132, made up of 15 officers and 117 enlisted sailors, came face-to-face with their loved ones.

"It’s been a long six months and I missed these kids and my wife so much," said Chief Systems Technician-Submarine Anthony Rossi, who lives in Groton.

When Cmdr. Fraser Hudson walked off the submarine, his children ran into his arms. His wife joyously exclaimed, "It’s so good to see you!"

Betty Ann Gerhart has three generations of Navy in her family. 

"I’m very proud. I’m like in tears. The anticipation is really tough," Gerhart, of Philadelphia, said. 

On Wednesday she was waiting for her son, Chief Petty Officer Nicholas Calvin Gerhart, to come home for the last time after 11 years of service.

"He’s missed a lot of family functions, and holidays and all. But he’s serving his country and I’m proud of that," Gerhart said.

Carole Shrader said the last time her husband, Navigator Brent Shrader, came back from deployment, she was pregnant. Now he has two people to hug; She and their son, Hunter, even got to see him at some of the port stops in Europe.

"Words can’t express how proud we are of him and all the guys on the boat," Carole Shrader said, choking back tears. "They do so much. But we’re also happy to have him back."

"I’m happy to be here. Proud to serve. And I don’t even know how to explain how I feel right now. It’s just… it’s just awesome," said Electronic Technician Second Class Darryl Baukman.

The USS Missouri is a Virginia-class, nuclear-powered, fast-attack submarine. It returned from the European Command Areas of Responsibility.

During deployment, the submarine traveled approximately 35,000 nautical miles and made port visits in Haakonsvern, Norway and Faslane, Scotland.

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