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05-28-2006, 08:11 AM
May 28, 2006 -- A Navy warship - its bow fashioned from steel recovered from the toppled Twin Towers, its motto "Never Forget" - is being built in New Orleans with great reverence and resolve by survivors of another American disaster, Hurricane Katrina. "I wanted to be part of the USS New York, to make it my last ship," said crane supervisor Tony Quaglino, who delayed his retirement after 40 years at the Avondale shipyard to work on the $1 billion, 684-foot-long amphibious assault vessel. "I thought it would be a great honor to be involved in a lasting tribute to those who lost their lives on Sept. 11th," he said. "This is sacred and it makes me very proud." Quaglino, 66, remained on the job even after Katrina's raging floodwaters forced his family out of their home. He spends his nights sleeping in a trailer and his free time rebuilding his house. "I've got one bedroom finished, now I'm working on other parts of it," he said. The USS New York, which is now about 45 percent done, contains 71/2 tons of steel from the ruins of the World Trade Center, noted Tommy Defrene, who takes "great pride" in the fact that the seagoing 9/11 memorial "is my first assignment as general ship superintendent." "There's a special feeling behind it," he said, Defrene recalled how workers and dignitaries who gathered for the keel-laying ceremony on Sept. 10, 2004, reverently touched the ship's bow stem - cast from girders recovered from the Trade Center wreckage. An official told them, "This steel will point the way as it cuts through the world's seas and defends the nation's interests." Defrene said the ship has helped displaced workers cope with the damage and disorder dealt them and their families by Hurricane Katrina - it makes them feel they're accomplishing something as they struggle to rebuild their homes and handle a barrage of insurance and government forms. "They say, 'I know what I have to do here, let's get it done,' " he said. Two sister vessels are planned as 9/11 memorials - the USS Arlington, named for the Pentagon, in Arlington, Va., and USS Somerset, named for the field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, where United Flight 93 crashed.
The USS New York will carry a crew of 360 sailors and 700 Marines.
The USS New York will carry a crew of 360 sailors and 700 Marines.