This Navy Assault Ship Carries the Most Sacred Steel in America

It Sails the World as a Floating Memorial

On September 9, 2003, foundry workers in Louisiana poured molten steel into a mold. The metal had been salvaged from Ground Zero, pulled from the rubble of the Twin Towers.

They were casting the bow of a Navy warship, the part that would cut through the water first wherever the ship sailed.

Workers touched the steel like a sacred object, and one crane operator delayed his retirement just to be part of it.

The USS New York would become a floating memorial to the 2,977 people who died on September 11, but its journey from twisted wreckage to commissioned warship took years and survived its own disaster along the way.

Pataki Asked Navy to Break Tradition

Shortly after the September 11 attacks, New York Governor George Pataki wrote to Secretary of the Navy Gordon England with an unusual request.

Pataki asked the Navy to name a surface warship after the state to honor the victims, even though he understood state names were typically reserved for submarines. The Navy approved the request on August 28, 2002.

Two years later, England announced that two sister ships would be named Arlington and Somerset to honor the other crash sites at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania.

All three would carry steel from their respective locations.

Foundry Workers Handled Steel Like Relics

The steel was melted down at Amite Foundry and Machine in Amite, Louisiana, to cast the ship’s bow section. It was poured into the molds on September 9, 2003, with 7 tons cast to form the ship’s stem bar.

The foundry workers reportedly treated it with reverence usually accorded to religious relics, gently touching it as they walked by. One worker delayed his retirement after 40 years just to be part of the project.

The bow stem weighs 7.5 tons, less than one thousandth of the ship’s total weight, but its meaning runs deeper than any measurement.

Hurricane Katrina Hit the Shipyard

The contract to build New York was awarded to Northrop Grumman Ship Systems of New Orleans in 2003, and the ship was under construction at the time of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Katrina disrupted construction when it pounded the Gulf Coast, but the 684-foot vessel escaped serious damage, and workers were back at the yard two weeks after the storm.

More than 200 employees who lost their homes to Katrina lived at the shipyard, some on a Navy barge and others in bunk-style housing. They called it Kamp Katrina and kept building.

Workers Felt Kinship With New Yorkers

Crane superintendent Tony Quaglino had worked at the shipyard for 41 years and was about to retire when he heard about the project. “It’s important to me and the rest of these guys to be a part of this ship.

What happened to us with Katrina added to the emphasis,” he said. “One was manmade, one was natural, but they’re both a common bond.”

About 1,200 Louisiana workers stayed to keep building the ship after the hurricane. Many saw finishing the vessel as a way to honor both tragedies.

The Christening Ceremony in New Orleans

New York was christened on March 1, 2008, in a ceremony at Avondale Shipyard.

Ship sponsor Dotty England, wife of Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, smashed the traditional champagne bottle on the ship’s bow.

The bottle did not break the first time it struck the hull, but the second attempt was successful.

NYPD and FDNY members attended alongside Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson and family members of September 11 victims. After years of work, the warship finally had a name.

The Ship Sailed Up the Hudson River

The ship set sail for Norfolk, Virginia, on October 13, 2009.

On November 2, 2009, the ship passed the World Trade Center site for the first time and gave the site a 21-gun salute.

To prepare for their early-morning entry into New York harbor, the crew were woken with Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” playing over the ship’s loudspeakers at 4:00 a. m.

A harbor pilot who lost his brother in the attacks helped guide the ship up the Hudson River. Hundreds of New Yorkers watched from shore.

Clinton Spoke at the Commissioning

The commissioning ceremony took place on November 7, 2009, in New York City.

Speakers included Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, Governor David Paterson, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and the Chief of Naval Operations. “This ship carries with it searing memories of Sept.

11, lives cut short, families ripped apart, a nation attacked,” Clinton said. “And in that steel, burned but unbroken, lives the spirit we saw on 9/11.”

About one in seven of the plank owners were from New York state, a larger number than usual.

The Ship Holds Dozens of Memorials

The USS New York features dozens of reminders of 9/11 throughout its passageways. An outline of the New York City skyline and a steel plaque adorn one of the main entryways.

A New York City subway sign from the station beneath the World Trade Center is displayed below deck, behind a bench where sailors can sit and reflect.

A display case shows off hats and uniforms from first responders, including a firefighter’s helmet. The names of victims are inscribed on a memorial in a passageway.

The Chaplain Reads a Name Every Day

When the ship is at sea, the chaplain carries on a daily tradition of commemorating one of the 9/11 victims during evening prayer over the ship’s public address system.

“We have a book that includes a short biography or obituary of each victim, so we follow it in order,” explained one chaplain. The details shared include their job, hobbies, dreams, and family.

The tradition only takes place when the ship is underway, so they are about a third of the way through the book. With 2,977 names, it will take years to read them all.

The Ship Has Served Around the World

In June 2012, the ship deployed for the first time to the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf.

In June 2014, the ship transported Ahmed Abu Khattala, the suspected mastermind of the 2012 Benghazi attack, back to the United States.

On September 11, 2017, New York arrived off the Florida coast for Hurricane Irma relief, 16 years to the day after the attacks.

In 2024, the ship deployed to the Mediterranean Sea as part of the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group. Wherever it sails, the World Trade Center steel leads the way.

Visiting the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, New York

The 9/11 Memorial and Museum stands at the former World Trade Center site where the USS New York fired its 21-gun salute in 2009.

The memorial features two reflecting pools set in the footprints of the Twin Towers, with the names of all 2,977 victims inscribed in bronze around the edges.

The museum is located below ground and holds artifacts including pieces of the original towers. It is open Wednesday through Monday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. , with admission at $33 for adults and $27 for seniors.

The address is 180 Greenwich Street in Lower Manhattan.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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