Nov 3, 2009 10:15 am US/Central
Inside The USS New York, A Marines Tool
By ROB MORRISON, WCBS-TV
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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The USS New York, an amphibious transport dock ship, arrives in New York November 2, 2009. The ship, scheduled to be commissioned November 7, 2009, has 7.5 tons of World Trade Center steel in her bow.
TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images
What a welcome for the USS New York. The war ship, built with steel from the World Trade Center, arrived in New York City on Monday. Her first stop was a very solemn one, occurring near Ground Zero, where the crew paid tribute with a 21-gun salute.
The ship is in New York for a week of ceremony and celebration, but once she joins the fleet it will be down to business, reports CBS station WCBS-TV.
The New York is called an "amphibious transport" and once you step inside you can see she carries weapons of war as well as the Marines trained to use them.
"We're pretty much showing our enemies that you can do whatever you want and we're gonna sit here and smile at you," said Lance Corporal Nelson Acevedo, originally from Miller Place, N.Y.
On display were the rifles snipers use with deadly accuracy from thousands of meters away, along with tripod and shoulder-launched anti-tank and aircraft missiles. Also shown were mortars and the troop vehicles needed once they reach land.
Stepping out onto the flight deck you'll find the air component. Think of the New York as an aircraft carrier for helicopters, like the CH-46 Sea Knights that flew us on board Sunday. The ship can carry four at a time. She also supports the expensive and controversial MV-22 osprey, a vertical takeoff plane whose development was plagued by accidents, but finally deployed just two years ago.
The ship's bow is built from 7 and 1/2 tons of World Trade Center steel and it's here the ships motto, "Strength through sacrifice. Never forget," has meaning for New Yorkers and the ship's crew.
"I was standing over the Palisades looking down the Hudson at what was the World Trade center, but just a pile of smoke was left over," recalled Lance Cpl. Adam Liguori of Fort Lee.
As time goes on, the USS New York and the sailors and Marines that live aboard her will forge their own history in service to the country. "Good duty" is a term service members use to describe a plum assignment, and while all time aboard a ship has its challenges, being assigned to the USS New York is considered good duty.
The U.S.S. New York will remain in the Big Apple through Veteran's Day, and then head down to Norfolk Virginia for crew training.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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