PROJECT HISTORY

Major Milestones

  • 30 July 1977 – The USS Phoenix Keel-Laying ceremony in Groton, CT at the General Dynamics/Electric Boat facility. Ms. Betty Rhodes, wife of Congressman John Rhodes from Arizona, is the boat’s sponsor. She is shown in the photos below with the famous “Father of the Nuclear Navy”, Admiral Hyman Rickover. Betty’s initials were inscribed on the keel.

  • 8 December 1979 – The USS Phoenix (SSN-702), 15th boat of 62 nuclear-powered fast attack submarines is launched. The 702 is 362 ft long and 33 ft wide with a submerged displacement of 66,000 tons.

  • 1981-1997 – 702 is on active duty in the north Atlantic, seven skippers in 17 years.

  • 1988 – Phoenix Mayor Terry Goddard creates the USS Phoenix Commission to befriend the USS Phoenix.

  • Decommissioning Date, 1998

  • 1998-2016 – 702 sits in waterborne storage in the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA, awaiting deconstruction and recycling.

  • 2008 – After many years of planning and lobbying efforts, the City of Phoenix approves of a plan to erect a USS Phoenix (SSN-702) Cold War Monument in Steele Indian School Park adjacent to the AZ Veteran Home.

  • 22 March 2016 – Site Dedication ceremony in Steele Indian School Park, RDML Yancy Lindsey presiding.

  • Spring-Summer 2016 – The Navy cuts up the 702, saving its sail, diving planes and top rudder for the monument project. Sixty-five tons of salvaged parts are trucked from WA to AZ and placed in temp storage at the Papago Park Military Reservation (PPMR).

  • 20 September 2016 – The salvaged parts are ‘rechristened’ in a special PPMR ceremony, Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton presiding.

  • 28 September 2017– Monument concept/renderings approved by the City of Phoenix’s Parks and Recreation Board.

  • 14-18 June 2018 – First-ever 702 crew reunion held in Phoenix 20 years after the boat was decommissioned.

  • 7 February 2019 – Fund-Raising Campaign Launched.

  • 11 April 2023 – Big Sign Reveal Event in Steele Indian School Park.
  • 25 May 2023 – City of Phoenix offers to fund and manage the project.

Early
History

Waterborne Storage and
Parts Arrival

Parts Re-Christening in Phoenix

Now

$3.8M by 2023

We’re Almost There – Please Help!!

$3.1M
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Preserving History:  Learn, Honor, Remember!

  • Learn about our country’s history

  • Honor those who served

  • Remember the lessons learned!

     

     

Brief Photo History of the Project

Please Support Our Monument!

Please help us raise the large amount of money needed to start construction. We’re counting on donors like you to help make this monument happen!
Thank-you!

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