USS New York, a Navy Battleship Built Using World Trade Center Scrap Metal

Netlore Archive: Forwarded email describes the USS New York, a Navy warship built using 24 tons of scrap metal from the fallen towers of the World Trade Center

Description: Email flier
Circulating since: May 2006
Status: True

Email example contributed by an AOL user, 20 May 2006:

Subject: Fw: USS New York Artists Rendering of the USS New York With a year to go before it even touches the water, the Navy's amphibious assault ship, USS New York, has already made history. 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 everybody 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'

Comments: True. Scheduled for launch in mid-2007, the Navy warship USS New York is currently under construction in Avondale, Louisiana and will contain about 24 tons of scrap steel salvaged from the World Trade Center. According to Navy sources, the USS New York is the fifth in a new class of amphibious assault vessels, the San Antonio Class, "designed to support embarking, transporting, and landing elements of a Marine landing force in an assault by helicopters, landing craft, amphibious vehicles, and by a combination of these methods to conduct primary amphibious warfare missions."

"This new class of ships will project American power to the far corners of the Earth and support the cause of freedom well into the 21st century," said Secretary of the Navy Gordon England when the project was announced in 2002. "From the war for independence through the war on terrorism, which we wage today, the courage and heroism of the people of New York has been an inspiration. USS New York will play an important role in our Navy's future and will be a fitting tribute to the people of the Empire State."

The half-built ship also has the distinction of surviving the destructive force of Hurricane Katrina, which slowed construction and left hundreds of shipyard workers homeless in August 2005. Many of the workers took up temporary residence at the shipyard so they could continue with the project.

(Image credit: Northrop Grumman)

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Sources and further reading:

USS New York - Warship Built out of Twin Towers Wreckage
The Times (London), 22 May 2006

New Navy Ship Being Built with WTC Steel
Associated Press, 3 April 2006

LPD 21: USS New York
U.S. Navy fact sheet, 24 October 2005

Navy Secretary Assigns New Ship Name USS New York
U.S. Dept. of Defense press release, 6 September 2002

Last updated: 06/10/06

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