Bruce Noordhoff worked in Pittsburgh in the '50s to help develop the double-reactor propulsion system that powered the nuclear submarine USS Triton.

More than 50 years later, he stood with a small crowd that gathered Friday morning under a light rain in north Richland to watch the USS Triton Submarine Memorial Park take shape.

The submarine's 66-foot-long, 23-foot-tall sail -- basically the vessel's dorsal fin -- will be the park's centerpiece.

"It brings a smile to my face and some memories," said Noordhoff, who's lived in the Tri-Cities since being transferred to work at the Fast Flux Test Facility at Hanford in the early '70s. "But I think the tribute to the nuclear Navy sailors is the celebration of the day."

Three years ago, Port of Benton Commissioner Bob Larson began thinking of how to honor the port's partnership with the Navy in burying the reactor compartments from nuclear submarines at Hanford.

"One of our commissioners said, 'Let's do something to commemorate the U.S. Navy, let's get a submarine,' " recalled Marv Kinney, Port of Benton director of special projects. "Ha. I said you can't get a submarine through the locks."

But Larson's idea lingered. Three years later, it's becoming a reality.

The USS Triton's conning tower, which sat inside the vessel's sail and was sometimes used for navigational purposes, was lowered onto a sunken concrete pad Friday. It will once again be encased in the sail as the Port of Benton continues work on the park for the next two to three years.

The park eventually will have information kiosks, grassy areas, three flag poles and paved areas.

Kinney said the port chose the USS Triton for the project for several reasons: It used to be the only non-Soviet nuclear sub to use a two-reactor propulsion plant; it was the first vessel to circumnavigate the globe submerged; it was the last to use a conning tower; and it was the largest, most expensive submarine in the world when it was commissioned in 1959.

She was decommissioned in 1969.

Patrick Morgan, who recently moved to the Tri-Cities from Virginia and served on three nuclear submarines, watched Friday as a crane lowered the conning tower to its base in the future park. He first saw the USS Triton in Groton, Conn., in 1968.

"I didn't realize the significance of it," he said.

He does now.

"This is great -- to have it right here in our backyard," Morgan said.

Morgan was accompanied by Ben Sheldon, who served on a diesel-powered submarine from 1956-59. Sheldon is part of U.S. Submarine Veterans Inc. He said the placement of the USS Triton's sail in Richland should inspire pride in the community.

Kinney isn't sure what the total cost will be to build the park. The submarine sail is being loaned to the port by the Navy for free, though it cost between $20,000 and $30,000 to truck it across the state from Bremerton.

The port is budgeting another $70,000 toward the park's construction next year, he said.

Roger Wright, the port's contract engineer, said erecting the submarine's sail will prove challenging. "It's definitely a one-of-a-kind project," he said.

The sail was cut into four pieces in Bremerton and a couple of inches had to be trimmed off the bottom so it could safely be driven to the Tri-Cities.

Wright wants to restore the sail's historical integrity, so he said one of the main challenges he's facing is increasing its height and reducing welding marks where the pieces are reattached.

"I just want to make sure we do a nice job on the park," he said.

-- Drew Foster: 585-7207; dfoster@tricityherald.com