WTC Steel Appears Ship Shape

It's a new life for World Trade Center steel.

Perhaps Rosaleen Tallon put it best when she watched the USS New York pull into the waters near Ground Zero on Monday.

"It's a transformation ... from something really twisted and ugly," Tallon told the Associated Press. "I'm proud that our military is using that steel."

Tallon, who lost her firefighter brother, Sean, on 9/11, joined other family members of victims as the ship, constructed of about 7.5 tons of steel from the World Trade Center towers, docked in downtown Manhattan for a 21-gun salute.

JoAnn Atlas, of Howells, N.Y., lost her husband, fire Lt. Gregg Atlas, on 9/11 and draped a flag-themed banner along the fence. The names of emergency workers who died were written across the red stripes.

"We have to remember. It's a way to honor them," Atlas said.

There are 361 sailors serving aboard the ship, many of whom specifically requested to serve on it, according to Navy spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Colette Murphy. Murphy told the AP about 13 percent of the sailors on board are from New York State, a higher than average percentage. She said she was excited for them to experience the "awe-inspiring" welcome in the Big Apple.

The Navy said plans for the ship were already in the works before the World Trade Center attack, but after 9/11 the Navy decided to use WTC steel to craft the 684-foot long assault ship and name it the USS New York in honor of the victims.

After its emotional stop near Ground Zero, the ship headed up the Hudson River toward the George Washington Bridge, then headed south to Pier 88 for a commissioning ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 7.

"I just thought it was important to see" the transformation of the tragedy's wreckage, Nancy DiGiacomo, a spectator, told the AP. "From that, something else can come of it."

Something else has already come of it: hope and progress in the face of tragedy.

Photo courtesy of U.S. Navy Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Corey Lewis via Wikimedia Commons.