by Larry McShane
With 7.5 tons of World Trade Center steel in its bow, the USS New York was christened in Louisiana Saturday as the families of 9/11 victims looked on.
The $1 billion amphibious-assault ship was dedicated by Dotty England, wife of Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, smashing a bottle of champagne across its hull in a shipyard ceremony. The hulking gray ship was fashioned in part from twisted steel beams salvaged from Ground Zero.
The event was bittersweet for New York Police Lt. Matt Murphy. "I tell you, it's a fantastic day. Sometimes you think you're over something," he said, tearfully, "and then you realize you're not completely."
The 25,000-ton vessel was on the drawing board at the time of the 9/11 attacks, and plans to incorporate the World Trade Center steel were completed a year later - and the ship was named to honor the 2,750 victims of lower Manhattan. The ship's official motto: "Never Forget."
That the ship could be used in war did not bother Lee Ielpi, president of the September 11th Families' Association. His son, Jonathan, a firefighter, died in the attacks.
"This ship, as it cuts through the water, is going to send a ripple," Ielpi said. "That ripple will say, 'We cherish our freedom.'"
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