1marineslady
June 27th, 2006, 13:46
With a year to go before it even touches the water, the Navy's amphibious assault ship USS New York has already made history.
It was built with 24 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center.
USS New York is about 45 percent complete and should be ready
for launch in mid-2007. Katrina disrupted construction when it
pounded the Gulf Coast last summer, but the 684-foot vessel
escaped serious damage, and workers were back at the yard near
New Orleans two weeks after the storm
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.
"It would be fitting if the first mission this ship would go on is to make sure that bin Laden is taken out, his terrorist organization is taken
out," said Glenn Clement, a paint foreman. "He came in through the back door and knocked our towers down and (the New York) is
coming right through the front door, and we want them to know that."
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.
Some additional information I found very powerful:
>>The vessel's bow section will incorporate 24 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center which was melted down in a foundry in Amite, Louisiana. As of early April 2006, work on the future USS New York was about 45 percent complete, and it is expected to be ready for launch in mid-2007. The name New York was reportedly revived for the warship (which was already under construction) at the request of New York governor George Pataki to commemorate the September 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S., creating an exception to current U.S. Navy policy of using state names only for nuclear submarines.
According to the Associated Press, the USS New York will be the fifth ship of its class, at least two more of which will also be named for locations associated with the 9/11 attacks:
USS New York 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.
Later ships in the class will include USS Arlington, the location of the Pentagon, also struck by a hijacked jetliner on Sept. 11, and USS Somerset, named for the Pennsylvania county where United Flight 93 crashed after its passengers fought off hijackers apparently planning to attack another Washington target.
The quotes from Navy personnel and shipyard workers included in the e-mailed version reproduced above were taken from an Associated Press article about the ship.
It was built with 24 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center.
USS New York is about 45 percent complete and should be ready
for launch in mid-2007. Katrina disrupted construction when it
pounded the Gulf Coast last summer, but the 684-foot vessel
escaped serious damage, and workers were back at the yard near
New Orleans two weeks after the storm
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.
"It would be fitting if the first mission this ship would go on is to make sure that bin Laden is taken out, his terrorist organization is taken
out," said Glenn Clement, a paint foreman. "He came in through the back door and knocked our towers down and (the New York) is
coming right through the front door, and we want them to know that."
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.
Some additional information I found very powerful:
>>The vessel's bow section will incorporate 24 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center which was melted down in a foundry in Amite, Louisiana. As of early April 2006, work on the future USS New York was about 45 percent complete, and it is expected to be ready for launch in mid-2007. The name New York was reportedly revived for the warship (which was already under construction) at the request of New York governor George Pataki to commemorate the September 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S., creating an exception to current U.S. Navy policy of using state names only for nuclear submarines.
According to the Associated Press, the USS New York will be the fifth ship of its class, at least two more of which will also be named for locations associated with the 9/11 attacks:
USS New York 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.
Later ships in the class will include USS Arlington, the location of the Pentagon, also struck by a hijacked jetliner on Sept. 11, and USS Somerset, named for the Pennsylvania county where United Flight 93 crashed after its passengers fought off hijackers apparently planning to attack another Washington target.
The quotes from Navy personnel and shipyard workers included in the e-mailed version reproduced above were taken from an Associated Press article about the ship.