USS New York
It was built with 24 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center.
It is the fifth in a new class of warship - designed for missions that include special operations against terrorists. It will carry a crew of 360 sailors and 700 combat-ready Marines to be delivered ashore by helicopters and assault craft.
Steel from the World Trade Center was melted down in a foundry in Amite, LA to cast the ship's bow section. When it was poured into the molds on Sept. 9, 2003, "those big rough steelworkers treated it with total reverence," recalled Navy Capt. Kevin Wensing, who was there. "It was a spiritual moment for everybody there."
Junior Chavers, foundry operations manager, said that when the trade center steel first arrived, he touched it with his hand and the "hair on my neck stood up." "It had a big meaning to it for all of us," he said. "They knocked us down. They can't keep us down. We're going to be back."
The ship's motto? "Never Forget"
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Thanks to Karen for passing it on! And as she said, "Isn't she a beauty?"
2 comments:
I never heard about this. What an awesome thing to do, and I can imagine how those workers felt as they worked on the ship. Did I just miss this story? It should have been front page news. Americans should have cheered with a roar that would have been heard in the Middle East when this ship was launched. How did I miss this?
I don't know how you missed this, Steve. I first read of this wonderful ship in May of last year, when they started building her. The article was on the internet, so I sent it to LT Rich and I think I sent it to De'on also. The article was awesome.
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