9-11 ship 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

"Every ship in the Navy has a namesake room or a legacy room, but on our ship the whole ship is a legacy to what happened." The Command Master Chief is talking about the USS New York, one of three ships built to remember the unprovoked attack on New York in 2001.

photo

"We talk to all of our sailors when they initially check in and explain to them the significance of what they are a part of . . . You can't help when you walk around the ship to notice all the things meant to remind you of why you serve." Things like:

• a steel plate from the World Trade Center rubble is mounted in a hallway
• a fire fighter's helmet
• the bow stem below water surface at the front of the ship

That last item was made from 7.5 tons of steel salvaged from the rubble of one of the Twin Towers.