9/11 Families - USS New York News

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It's official!  USS New York commissioned
Associated Press, Posted: 2:29 PM, November 7, 2009

The USS New York, built with steel  from the rubble of the World Trade Center,  
was put into service today both as a symbol of 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  for the ceremony.

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



Robert  Miller 
A commissioning ceremony  was held aboard the Intrepid for 
the USS New York today. The new ship is seen  in the rear.

And with a long drum roll, the  ship's crew was sent on its 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  buildings were forged 
from steel, from the Statue of Liberty to the Chrysler building.

"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 USS New York's new skipper,  Cmdr. Curtis Jones, is a native 
New Yorker.

The ceremony had started with a  moment of silence for those who 
died in the 9/11 attacks.

The $1 billion vessel was built  near New Orleans  by workers who 
survived HurricaneKatrina.

"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.
             
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/it_official_uss_
new_york_commissioned_f9MhmEiiekc7tnOCl5SuIO#ixzz0WImcm49N

     

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

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