The Associated Press announced that the US Navy has launched the USS New York. With the retirement of a nuclear submarine with the same name, the name was give to 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.
The USS New York was built with 24 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center. 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 present. “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, but they can’t keep us down. We’re going to be back.”
The ship’s motto? – “Never Forget”
Story Verified: Snopes.com
CBS.com
US Navy Fact Sheet
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Dr Bob, www.grif.net
1 cross + 3 nails = 4 given