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USS New York
It was built with
24 tons of scrap steel from the
World
Trade
Center .
It is 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.
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 there. 'It was a spiritual moment for everyb ody
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.
They can't keep us down. We're going to be back.'
The ship's motto? 'Never Forget'
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