It’s built with 7.5 tons of metal from the World Trade Center.
By Timothy J. Gibbons Story updated at 3:26 AM on Saturday, Mar. 13, 2010
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USS New York Pierside at Mayport

The numbers cut into the ton of steel hanging over the vehicle ramp on the USS New York bear testimony to the symbolism inherent in the giant vessel.

Those figures – the number of uniformed personnel, including police and fire officials and members of the armed services, who died in the terrorist attacks of 9/11- share space on the chunk of metal from the World Trade Center with the ship’s motto: “Strength forged through sacrifice. Never forget.”

The very fabric of the New York, an amphibious transport dock ship, is built from steel from the skyscrapers destroyed that day, with 7.5 tons of metal from the felled twin towers used to make up the vessel’s bow stem.

“It leads us through the water,” said Cmdr. Curt Jones, the commanding officer of the vessel and a native of New York. “It has a very visceral feel for us.”

Two similar ships – the USS Arlington, named in remembrance of the Pentagon attack; and the USS Somerset, named for the Pennsylvania county where American Airlines Flight 93 crashed – are being built with metal from those sites.

Even apart from the symbolism, the New York is an impressive vessel in its own right. Four decks that can accommodate tons of machinery as well as a well deck designed for landing crafts allows the ship to transport 700 Marines and their equipment to wherever they need to go.

“We carry the Marines to the fight,” said Seaman Mike Kolbeck, who helps with loading and unloading vehicles. “That’s what we focus on.”

The ship also carries a suite of self-defense weapons, the reason for its quick visit to Mayport Naval Station. Next week, the New York will head out to sea to test-fire its missiles and guns as it continues to prepare for a 2012 deployment.

It’s too early to say what that deployment will be but because of its large spaces, Jones said, the ship can handle a number of missions, from peacekeeping jobs to handling evacuations.

Since the New York’s commissioning in November in its namesake city, it has also handled another job: Ambassador for the Navy.

About 50,000 people, many with ties to those killed in the World Trade Center, visited the ship when it was in New York, and dignitaries from around the world came for the commissioning.

“It was an international day of loss,” said Erich Schmidt, the ship’s executive officer, said about 9/11. “This ship means something to so many people.”

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