By Jon Lane
Derek Jeter’s pursuit of Lou Gehrig is great, but far more important is that Friday is the eighth anniversary of 9/11. The Yankees announced that they will hold a special ceremony before the game to honor the USS New York and the ship’s crew.

Here’s the 411:

The New York Yankees today announced they will hold a special pregame ceremony on Friday, September 11, prior to the Yankees’ 7:05 p.m. game vs. the Orioles.

USS NY at Yankee Stadium

During the home plate ceremony, the Yankees will give special recognition to the USS New York and the ship’s crew as well as the commissioning committee during a home plate ceremony. The state-of-the-art stealth ship, whose bow stem includes seven-and-a-half tons of steel recovered from the fallen World Trade Center, is scheduled to be commissioned into the U.S. Navy’s fleet on November 7.  

The presentation of colors will be made by the USS New York Naval Color Guard, the FDNY Color Guard, the NYPD Color Guard and the Port Authority Color Guard. Naval musician Laura Carey will sing the national anthem.

Representing Washington, D.C. – an area also affected by the 9/11 tragedy – will be Janet Napolitano, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, who will throw out the game’s ceremonial first pitch.

Scheduled to arrive into the New York Harbor on November 2, the USS New York will proceed up the Hudson River, where she will pause and dip her ensign (the American Flag) as she passes the World Trade Center site, then proceed up to the George Washington Bridge, turn and dock at her Manhattan pier. On November 7, she will enter naval service. 

Source: http://yes.mlblogs.com/archives/2009/09/yankees_to_commemorate_911_ann.html