Resurrecting The Rubble at Ground Zero: USS New York

by sarabelle parker in Society, November 14, 2009

The creation of a Navy Warship made with salvaged steel from the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and built by victims of Hurricane Katrina, becomes a symbol of endurance for the United States. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton called it “a symbol of our unshakable resolve”.

At 7:00 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009 the USS New York set sail for a naval weapons station in New Jersey. It was officially commissioned on Nov. 7, 2009 after arriving in New York on Nov. 2. Perhaps, the traditional order of, “Man our ship and bring her to life” took on a special meaning with this particular ship. You see, this new addition to the US Navy has already had quite a remarkable life.

The idea for the ship was initiated by former New York Governor, George E. Pataki, just after the September 11 attack on America. He wrote a letter to Gordon R. England, Secretary of the Navy. He asked that a warship be named USS New York as a memorial to the victims of September 11.

The bow of the ship’s hull was cast using 7.5 tons of steel salvaged from the rubble of the World Trade Center at Ground Zero. A small ceremony preceded the melting of the steel wreckage and it was poured into a cast. Amite Foundry and Machine in Amite, La. were responsible for melting the steel. The steel was poured into the molds on September 9, 2003.

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Image via Wikipedia Steel from Ground Zero, being pored into a mold for the bow of USS New York

The project began in 2003. The contract was given to Northrop Grumman Ship Systems. The company is located in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was being built there when the city was devestated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The half-built ship survived the storm. Unfortunately, it left a number of the workers homeless. A “Camp Katrina” was set-up in the shipyard. In 2006, nearly 200 workers were living in the camp. Although or maybe in some way because many were dealing with their own personal grief, reports surfaced about the workers treating the WTC steel with an awe-inspiring reverence.