Sails Under Verrazano, Into Harbor
By Mary Frost
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
NEW YORK HARBOR — Escorted by a flotilla of vessels and with helicopters buzzing overhead, the new Navy warship USS New York, built with World Trade Center steel embedded in its hull, sailed under the Verrazano Bridge and into New York Harbor Monday morning.
Hundreds, including families of Sept. 11 victims and first responders, gathered on the waterfront near the scene of the terrorist attack for a 21-gun salute.
The bow of the $1 billion San Antonio-class LPD (Landing Platform Dock) warship, built in Louisiana by Northrop Grumman, contains about 7.5 tons of steel from the fallen towers.
The ship will be officially commissioned Saturday. Its motto is "Strength forged through sacrifice. Never forget."
“A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into this ship,” said Tom Jones, father of the new ship’s first commanding officer, Commander Curt Jones of Binghamton. Eagle reporters, along with Mr. Jones, his wife Sandra and other dignitaries, accompanied the USS New York into harbor aboard the Pilot Boat New York, which guided the warship to the World Trade Center site and then north to the George Washington Bridge and back.
Mr. Jones said the builders “put a lot of effort into making this ship,” in spite of getting hard hit by Hurricane Katrina. “Even though they didn’t have homes, they kept working on this ship.
“We’ve been waiting for this experience for quite a while. New York has really done a lot to welcome everyone. Curt and the entire crew are honored to be here and to be able to sail with the memories of all the victims as well as the heroes of 9/11.”
The USS New York’s crest features the Twin Towers and the bow of the ship, forged from the towers' steel. The breastplate of a phoenix bears the colors of first responders from the New York Police Department, New York Fire Department and the Port Authority. Blood drops represent the fallen.
There are also three stars for those earned by the earlier battleship USS New York in World War II at Iwo Jima, Okinawa and North Africa.
Tom Casey from Troy told the Eagle that his son, Tom, was a sailor aboard the USS New York. “It’s a dream assignment,” he said. “His grandpa was in the Navy, and he comes from a family of professional firefighters – his dad and his uncle, too.”
USS New York a ‘Behemoth’
The Navy calls the USS New York a “behemoth.” The ship is 684 feet long and can carry as many as 800 Marines.
She carries tilt-rotor Osprey aircraft and helicopters on her flight deck, plus 14 expeditionary fighting vehicles or several hovercraft below deck for deployments of U.S. Marine Corps and Special Forces personnel.
The New York will remain in the city through Veteran's Day and then head to Norfolk, Va., for crew training and exercises. See www.ussny.org for public visiting hours.
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