U.S.S. New York Commissioning Complete, Ship with 9-11 Steel Enters U.S. Navy

The U.S.S. New York commissioning took place today. The U.S. Navy warship, built partially from steel from the World Trade Center, arrived in New York harbor earlier this week.

The U.S.S. New York's bow is built from 7.5 tons of World Trade Center steel. The ship docked at 9:59 AM Monday morning, when it moored to Pier 88. The official commissioning ceremony was scheduled for today.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave the keynote address. She noted the sacrifices made by Americans since 9-11, but included Fort Hood, which some may find contentious, as the anti-terrorist message of the U.S.S. New York is thus linked to a mass murder which may have been the result of one man's mental instability, not terrorism.

"The motto of the USS New York is 'Strength forged through sacrifice. Never forget. By commissioning this ship today, we reaffirm the best and the worst of humanity, that we have seen from September 11th to Fort Hood."

New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York governor David Paterson also attended the U.S.S. New York commissioning, as did former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Now that the U.S.S. New York commissioning is complete, the ship will be open to the public before leaving for its home port in Virginia on Thursday. The U.S.S. New York is the fifth in the line of San Antonio-class amphibious dock vessels. Four vessels in that class are already in service (the U.S.S. San Antonio, U.S.S. New Orleans, U.S.S. Mesa Verde and U.S.S. Green Bay). Four others are being built, of which two are also have been named in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks.

Those two are the U.S.S. Somerset, which is named after the county in Pennsylvania where United Airlines flight 93 crashed, and the U.S.S. Arlington, which is named to honor the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon.