NEW YORK - At Pier 88, along the Hudson River in New York City, the Navy's newest vessel officially entered the fleet, during Saturday's commissioning ceremony of the USS New York.
"Officers and crew of the USS New York, man our ship and bring her to life!" exclaimed Dottie Englund, the ship's sponsor, who last year, christened the ship in Avondale, where it was built.
The ship's bow contains seven and a half tons of steel, recovered from the fallen Twin Towers and forged at a foundry in Amite. It was a long-awaited ceremony for a ship that binds together not just its namesake city-- New York-- but also the city of its construction-- New Orleans.
"This is just a very special occasion," said Rear Admiral Robert Ravitz (Ret.), co-chairman of the USS New York's commissioning. "It's taken a long time, in great part, because of the disaster that went through New Orleans, that delayed the building of this ship: Katrina."
Hurricane Katrina nearly threw the ship's construction off course. Many of the workers at Northrup-Grumman shipbuilding in Avondale, suffered damage to their homes during the storm. However, it did not stop them from working on the New York.
"To the Northrop-Grumman shipbuilders and citizens of New Orleans, you have constructed a truly magnificent ship and were wonderful hosts to us. Thank you!" said Capt. Curtis Jones of the USS New York.
During the ceremony, Capt. Jones recognized the sacrifices of the New Orleans area shipbuilders, and paid tribute to all those who suffered in New York on 9/11.
"[The ship] also serves as a link between New Orleans and New York," Capt. Jones said. "The steel recovered by New Yorkers, was reformed and reconstructed by the shipbuilders, who had lost everything during Katrina and its aftermath. This dedication, the devotion to constructing New York, is manifested throughout the ship. It is a testament from one group to another."
Once the USS New York goes into service, it will be used to carry up to 700 Marines to conflicts around the globe. Yet, there is also a hope that it can be an instrument of peace.
"Hopefully, not war," said Rear Admiral Ravitz. "Hopefully, we take this ship to prevent war."
A ship with a dual purpose of war and peace-- that will carry with it a part of two cities and the spirit of one country.
"By commissioning this ship today, we reaffirm the best and worst of humanity that we have seen from September 11th to Ft. Hood," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told the gathered crowd. "And on every ocean and in every port, they will carry that refashioned steel, a symbol of our unshakable resolve."
The USS New York will sail from Manhattan after Veterans Day. It will be based in Norfolk, Virginia.
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