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U.S.S. New York Crew Recalls Its Own 9/11 Ties
By A. G.  Sulzberger
Published: The New York Times  l  November 1, 2009

ABOARD  U.S.S. NEW YORK, off New York — Most were middle school 
students, but some were  construction workers, police officers or members 
of the military when two  planesslammed into the World Trade Center eight 
years ago.



Rachel L. Leslie/U.S.  Navy
Marielena Derasmo, 22, a petty officer  third class in the Naval Reserve, 
on the U.S.S. New York, was in her first day of high  school on 9/11. 
Many crew members were in middle school that day.

As they  have traveled toward New York  together, the crew of this ship 
has traded stories of that day, with personal  details fleshing out the 
standard narrative of disbelief, sorrow and outrage.


One told  of learning about the attacks on the first day of high school 
and fearing for  the safety of relatives. Others spoke of rushing from a 
nearby construction  site to assist with the rescue efforts; of deciding 
to enlist while combing  through the rubble; and of watching quietly as 
the nation’s leaders assessed  the damage and plotted their response. 


The  memory of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, hangs heavy over the 
U.S.S. New York, which has been  described variously as a tribute to 
the victims and an instrument of their  vengeance. Steel salvaged from 
the World   Trade Center  is forged into the bow of the ship, which 
bears a crest featuring a phoenix  rising from the twin towers and the 
words “Never Forget.” 


The  group of sailors and Marines who have been guiding the warship to 
New York City, where it is due to dock on  Monday, before its formal 
commissioning later this week, includes many New  Yorkers who 
requested the assignment. Some had already enlisted before the  
attack. Others said it was the incentive they needed to sign up for the  
military. Still others said it never factored into their decision. 

It is  not a constant topic. The ship arranged a showing of two 
9/11-related films one  night, but no one came to watch. And some on 
board fell back instinctively on  military bravado or boxing-movie 
metaphors when discussing the events. (“You  can sucker punch us, 
or whatnot, but we’re going to come right back at you,”  for instance.) 
But it is a topic on which many on board are willing to let their guard 
down, a bit. 
Steve  Cochrane, a petty officer second class in the Navy Reserve, saw 
the attack unfold on television. That night, Officer Cochrane, then a 
police officer in Westchester   County, drove down to the  area with 
some other officers. They climbed onto the rubble and began digging  
though it. He remembered the steel still being hot to the touch. Retelling 
the  story brought tears to his eyes, which he wiped roughly with the 
back of his  hand.

“While  on the pile, I looked around and said, ‘Never again in my 
backyard,’ and I  started looking for jobs in the military,” he said. 
On  Sunday, the ship idled about 10 miles off the coast of Long Island, 
while the  crew spent the day ferrying business executives, military 
officers and defense  contractors on board by helicopter. The guests 
were given tours of the ship and  will spend the night in cramped living 
spaces, sleeping in three-level bunks  normally used by Marines (though 
several, including the Jets owner Woody  Johnson and the former Navy 
secretary Gordon R. England, will receive the  roomier accommodations 
used by senior officers). 

Among  the visitors was Jennifer Adams, chief executive of the 
Tribute WTC Visitor Center, which features  an exhibition about the ship.
“To the  families in our community, it means a tremendous amount,” she 
said. “It’s a  symbol that the spirit of their loved ones will be remembered.” 

As she  explored the ship, Ms. Adams was greeted enthusiastically by 
the crew, many of  whom, she noted, were in middle school at the time 
of the attacks. She said  that survivors and victims’ relatives will be 
giving crew members tours of the  trade center site after the ship 
arrives in port. (There was to be a 21-gun  salute at about 8 a.m., when 
the ship neared the trade center site.) 

“Our  role is really to help educate the crew here to understand the 
events of 9/11,”  she said.
 
Lance Cpl.  Joseph T. Anderson, from Levittown, N.Y., is one of those 
who needs  no refresher. He was down the street, standing on a piece 
of steel on the 63rd  floor of a skyscraper he was helping to construct, 
when the planes hit. He  could not hear the sound of the explosion over 
the din of the construction  site, but learned soon afterward from a 
co-worker what had happened. 

As he  raced toward the trade center, he learned that his brother, who 
worked on the  105th floor of the south tower, had managed to escape 
as the building was  collapsing. Lance Corporal Anderson stayed for more 
than a month to help clear  the site, at first looking for survivors and 
later for bodies. His job was to  cut and load the steel. “It was all 
mangled and wrapped around everything,” he said.  Six years later, in 
2007, he enlisted in the Marines because, he said, he would  have 
regretted not having done so. Now, with his first tour in Iraq behind  
him, Lance Corporal Anderson, 29, felt lucky to have been assigned to 
the  U.S.S. New York, which, he said, shows America’s  perseverance 
in the face of adversity.” 

Sept. 11  was the first day of freshman year of high school for Marielena 
Derasmo, 22,  who is from Yonkers  and is now a petty officer third 
class in the Navy Reserve. She was at Mass  when the students learned 
that planes hit the buildings. Two uncles worked  there, and it was a 
while before she learned that, by luck, one was late to  work that day 
and the other had stepped out for a cup of coffee shortly before  
the attack.

Cmdr.  Curt Jones, who grew up in Binghamton, N.Y., was already deep 
into a  military career when the trade center was attacked. At the time, 
he was an aide  to the deputy commander of the United States 
Strategic Command in Omaha. Hours later, he  found himself in a room 
with President George  W. Bush, quietly observing as a response was 
planned. 

“Being  in the presence of the president as that is going on and 
unfolding is somewhat  surreal,” said Commander Jones. “You know you 
are living history.” He continues  to live it. He is now in charge of the 
U.S.S. New York.

“I  realized,” he added, “why I’m in the Navy.”

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

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