As Boothbay Harbor prepares to celebrate the 64th annual Windjammer Days, this year’s theme proudly honors the past, present, and retired members of the United States Navy who have served our nation with dedication and distinction. Throughout the coming weeks, we will feature a series of profiles highlighting local Navy service members—sharing their stories, experiences, and the lasting impact of their service. These articles are a tribute to the men and women whose commitment to duty reflects the maritime heritage at the heart of Windjammer Days and the deep appreciation of our community. Unfortunately not all current or former Navy service members in the area can be individually featured. To have a Navy veteran or active-duty member mentioned on the Windjammer Days webpage, please email Friends of Windjammers (www.boothbayharborwindjammerdays.org). Please include name and rank. 

By Griffin Kane

Growing up in Boothbay in a family that loved and spent every summer day on the water helped shape my path toward a career in the Navy. I grew up hearing stories about my great-grandfather, Clyde Jones, an officer in the Navy, and my grandfather, Robert Holbrook, a Navy deep-sea diver. Those stories planted a seed early on.

Still, it was always assumed I would attend college after graduating high school. I enrolled at Bentley University in Massachusetts and majored in finance, but it didn’t take long to realize that a future spent in a high-rise office, pushing papers day after day, wasn’t for me. I wanted something more—I wanted to see the world.

That realization led me to sign on the dotted line as a NUKE school candidate in the United States Navy. After Boot Camp, I reported to the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command in Goose Creek, South Carolina to begin training as a Navy Nuke aboard a fast attack sub fully aware that volunteering for the submarine fleet required a special kind of crazy.

Following two intense years of A School, Power School, and Prototype, I qualified as an EMN (Electronics Mate Nuclear) and was stationed in Guam aboard the USS Annapolis, a fast-attack submarine. An EMNs job is to operate and maintain the electrical systems that control the nuclear reactor.

During my first deployment, I reenlisted for another six years. I was granted the opportunity to attend Advanced Firefighting School in Pearl Harbor. Since then, I have been promoted to Petty Officer First Class.

Although I have loved my time on Guam, I am looking forward to being stationed stateside this year so I can be closer to my family. I’ve also missed the changing of the seasons. Guam is hot year-round!

If I could go back and do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. The Navy has taught me invaluable lessons in teamwork, perseverance, leadership, determination, and dedication: all skills that will stay with me for life and guide me through any career path I pursue after my time in the Navy.