MAKE US YOUR HOMEPAGE | Saturday, November 21, 2009 | WIRELESS CONTACT US | SUBSCRIBER SERVICES | SIGN IN SIGN OUT | MY PROFILE PAGE | MY ACCOUNT

Home > News > Article

Newspaper View Newspaper View      Print this story Print      Email this story Email      Comment Comment      RSS RSS     
Share      Bookmark Bookmark

New York: Navy ship with 9/11 ties commissioned in NYC

Port Authority Sgt. Christopher Bergman, a 9/11 first responder who lost friends in the attack, listens as the USS New York, an amphibious assault ship containing 7.5 tons of steel salvaged from the World Trade Center, is commissioned in New York on Saturday. David Goldman / Associated Press
 
By VERENA DOBNIK Associated Press
Published: 11/8/2009  2:30 AM
Last Modified: 11/8/2009  5:43 AM

The USS New York, built with steel from the rubble of the World Trade Center, was put into Navy service Saturday as a symbol of both healing and strength.

"No matter how many times you attack us, we always come back," Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus said at the amphibious assault ship's commissioning. "America always comes back. That's what this ship represents."

He spoke on a Manhattan pier where hundreds of Navy officers and sailors joined first responders and families of Sept. 11 victims.

"I hereby place the USS New York in commission," Mabus announced.

And with a long drum roll, the ship's crew was set on the first watch, obeying the order, as traditionally worded: "Man our ship and bring her to life!"

From atop the vessel, decked in red, white and blue bunting, black smoke rose into the chilly fall morning to signal that the USS New York was powered up. A loud cheer accompanied a flyover by Navy planes.

The 7 1/2 tons of steel debris from ground zero had been melted down to form the bow of the USS New York as "a symbol of our unshakable resolve; this is a city built of steel," said Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, representing the Obama administration.

Clinton was a U.S. senator from New York before she became the nation's top diplomat.

She noted that many of New York's iconic structures were made from steel, including the Statue of Liberty.

"But the strongest steel of New York has always been in the spines of its people,"
Clinton said, calling New Yorkers "strivers and seekers, immigrants from every country, speakers of every language."

The ceremony was staged on the Hudson River pier that is home to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum — against the backdrop of the new vessel docked at the next pier.

Among the dignitaries were newly re-elected New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York Gov. David Paterson and the USS New York's new skipper, Cmdr. Curtis Jones.

A native of Binghamton, N.Y., he will oversee a crew of 360 sailors on a vessel transporting up to 700 Marines to war zones and humanitarian missions.

The $1 billion warship was built near New Orleans by workers who survived Hurricane Katrina.

"They had to rebuild their lives and their homes at the same time as they built the ship," said Irwin F. Edenzon, general manager for Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding-Gulf Coast, which built the USS New York.
By VERENA DOBNIK Associated Press

Newspaper View Newspaper View      Print this story Print      Email this story Email      Comment Comment      RSS RSS     
Share      Bookmark Bookmark

Reader Comments
       Add your comment

0 comments have been made on this story so far. Tell us what you think below!

Report Comment Reporting Comments

If you see a comment that violates our terms and conditions, please help us by clicking the "Report this Comment" link next to a comment. That will alert the web staff to review the comment. Thank you.  -- Web Editor Jason Collington
 
 
 

 
Add Your Comment 
In order to post a comment on this article, you must sign in to Tulsaworld.com. If you do not have a site account, you can create an account for free.

 
  
Post Your Comment
 


Most Popular Stories
Comments made yesterday 1,932
Total Comments 896,061
Register to make reader comments

Most Popular Stories




Tulsa World

Home | About Tulsa World | Advertise With Us | Privacy | Usage Agreement | FAQ and Help | Contact Us | Today's Headlines
Copyright © 2009, World Publishing Co. All rights reserved.




Advanced Search