How a New York Veteran Helped Make USS Triton History

On November 1, 2020, we said goodbye to my grandfather, Jessie. He wasn’t a celebrity or a decorated war hero, but to me he was a hero and someone worth celebrating.

Navy Veteran Turned Pastor After 20 Years of Service

After twenty years in the United States Navy, my grandfather retired and started a brand new chapter. By the time I came along, he had traded his sailor’s cap for a Bible. He studied theology, became a pastor, and devoted those years to helping others. Later he went on to a career as a nuclear engineer. He had lived through an era of military tension and global change, but his focus was always on peace and faith.

USS Triton Submarine Stories From My Grandfather

He didn’t talk much about his Navy days, but every once in a while, when the moment felt right, my grandpa would share a story. I’d sit quietly and listen as he talked about life aboard a submarine and the men who became his brothers. Those moments were rare, but they painted vivid pictures in my imagination of long days beneath the sea and the hum of the engines.

READ MORE: It’s True, Upstate New York Really Is the Birthplace of the Navy!

Operation Sandblast: The First Underwater Trip Around the World

I didn’t learn the full story until much later. My grandfather took part in a classified Navy mission called Operation Sandblast, the first submerged circumnavigation of the Earth. As an Electrician’s Mate First Class aboard the USS Triton, he was one of more than 180 officers and crew who spent just under two months traveling more than 26,000 nautical miles entirely underwater. The voyage lasted 60 days and 21 hours.

The Pentagon issued secret orders in early February 1960, and Triton’s route retraced explorer Ferdinand Magellan's path. Magellan’s expedition took roughly three years. The crew did not learn the true nature of the trip until they were underway and Captain Beach told them. My grandfather’s experience aboard the Triton later guided him in his work as an engineer.

USS Triton and Captain Edward Beach Make Navy History

Operation Sandblast took place in 1960 under the command of Captain Edward L. Beach Jr. during Triton’s shakedown cruise. When she was commissioned in November 1959, Triton was the largest and most expensive submarine ever built. She was also the first U.S. Navy ship with two nuclear reactors.

How Nuclear Submarine Power Changed Underwater Travel

Nuclear propulsion is what made a trip like this possible. Diesel-electric submarines have to snorkel to run their engines and recharge their batteries, and they slow down when they do. A nuclear reactor does not need air, so a nuclear submarine can stay fully submerged and run at high speed for long stretches.

READ MORE: Battleship Cove Is a Perfect Long Weekend Getaway Destination

Why Operation Sandblast Mattered During the Cold War

When the trip ended, the Navy had shown the endurance and capabilities of its first generation of nuclear-powered submarines. Triton returned to Groton, Connecticut, on May 10, 1960. The voyage also produced an unprecedented amount of oceanographic data and proved valuable politically to the United States during the Cold War. Triton received the Presidential Unit Citation, and Captain Beach received the Legion of Merit from President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

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Honoring a Navy Veteran on Veterans Day

Veterans Day has always held meaning for me, but since losing my grandfather, it has taken on a deeper significance. It’s no longer just a day of remembrance. It’s a day of gratitude, for him and for everyone who serves without expecting recognition. He never bragged or boasted. He did his job and moved forward with humility and faith. To know that my grandfather played even a small part in this history fills me with awe.