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Official Press release from USSNY.org, the only official commissioning website, visit them by clicking on the above graphic
(will open a new browser window) for much more information and an array of special merchandise.........
OFFICIAL USS NEW YORK COMMISSIONING COMMITTEE WEB SITE IS LAUNCHED –
USSNY.org Web Site to Offer Official and Exclusive Commemorative Items and Collectables –
– USS NEW YORK is a New U.S. Navy Ship Containing More Than Seven Tons of Steel from the Fallen World Trade Center
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– Proceeds and Contributions to Fund Special Needs of the Crew and Scholarships for Their Families –
New York, June 19, 2008 – The USS NEW YORK Commissioning Committee
today announced the launch of the official USS NEW YORK Commissioning Committee Web site at www.USSNY.org. The Web site is
the official authority on all information and events related to the commissioning of USS NEW YORK (LPD21), a new U.S. Navy
ship currently completing construction in Louisiana. The ship, containing more than seven tons of steel from the fallen World
Trade Center, is expected to be commissioned in New York City in the fall of 2009. Visitors to the Web site will be able to
learn about the mission and history of the ship, keep abreast of upcoming commissioning events, donate to the USS NEW YORK
Commissioning Committee and Foundation and purchase official and exclusive commemorative items and collectables. One hundred
percent of the donations as well as proceeds from the purchases made on the Web site will go towards the events surrounding
the commissioning and to providing for the morale, welfare and recreation needs of the crew, as well as scholarships for children
of the ship's first and future crew members. "We are excited about the launch of USSNY.org," said Robert A. Ravitz, RADM USNR
(Ret.), Co-Chairman & Executive Director of the Committee. "The commissioning of USS NEW YORK will be a historic event
for the State of New York and the entire country. As an all volunteer, non-profit, non-governmental organization, the commissioning
committee strongly encourages visitors to the Web site to make donations and purchase some of the commemorative items to support
and honor the brave men and women who will serve on the ship." The exclusive commemorative items and collectables initially
offered on the Web site include, among others, ball caps, mugs, t-shirts, photographs and patches. More items will be added
in the future.
USS NEW YORK (LPD21) has forged into its bow approximately 7.5 tons of steel from the ruins of the World Trade Center.
The ship weighs 25,000 tons, is 684 feet (208.5 m) long, 105 feet (32 m) wide, and is the fifth amphibious transport dock
ship in the U.S. Navy's San Antonio class. The newest addition to the Navy's 21st Century amphibious assault force, USS NEW
YORK will have a crew of approximately 360 sailors and will be capable of transporting up to 700 combat-ready Marines. The
ship will also carry Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) craft, the Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft and Marine Expeditionary vehicles.
USS NEW YORK was christened on March 1, 2008 at Northrop Grumman's Avondale, LA shipyard, where it is being completed prior
to undergoing sea trials.
Contact: Edelman for USS New York Commissioning Committee John R. Dillard 212-704-8174 John.Dillard@edelman.com Christopher
Mittendorf 212-704-8134 Christopher.Mittendorf@edelman.com
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| Artist impression of the new "San Antonio" LPD class 17 |
The brand new assault craft with a capability of carrying around 800 marines and equipment is to be named the U.S.S. New
York, in tribute to the almost 2,800 people who died in the attacks of September 11 2001.
The steel is set to be shipped to Northrop's shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, for construction to begin in the middle
of next year. The 684-foot ship should be ready for service in 2007. The ship will have the motto "Never Forget".
The recycled steel from the Twin Towers, if it meets quality standards, will be used to form the ship's "stem bar". That
is part of the ship's bow, where the vessel cuts the water.
New York authorities have the awesome problem of disposing of the 1.62 million tons of rubble that went to the
nearby Fresh Kills landfill from the World Trade Center site.
Some memorial sculptures made from recycled steel have been commissioned by the city, and tribute sculptures have now been
erected in many civic, and private facilities throughout the country.
The projected 12 San Antonio (LPD-17)-class amphibious assault ships are the Navy's top
expeditionary warfare priority. The USS New York will be LPD-21.
Operating forward, from the sea, America's Amphibious Ready Groups (ARGs) and their Marine Expeditionary
Units (Special Operations Capable) [MEU (SOC)s] are multimission crisis-response "tools." They are a mix of highly-mobile
air and ground firepower with self-sustainable forces, that can quickly project compelling power, withdraw rapidly, and then
reconstitute to re-deploy for follow-on missions. The LPD-17 class will be a fulcrum for future naval expeditionary operations.
The San Antonio class is being designed and built to fight. Its warfighting capabilities
include a state-of-the-art command and control suite, substantially increased vehicle lift capacity, a large flight deck,
and advanced ship survivability features that enhance its ability to operate in the unforgiving littoral environment. The
deployment of LPD-17s will provide each naval expeditionary force with greatly enhanced operational flexibility. The LPD-17
can operate as part of an Amphibious Task Force - the "workhorse" of a three-ship ARG - organized to accomplish a broad range
of military objectives; or as an element of a "Split-ARG" that has the LPD-17 detached and operating as a single ship, supporting
lower-risk operations.
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| The 4th USS New York |
When built this will be the fifth USS New York, the previous one was laid down 11 September 1911 by Brooklyn Navy
Yard, New York and launched 30 October 1912. It served in both World Wars.
During her World War I service, New York was frequently visited by royal and other high-ranking representatives
of the Allies, and she was present for one of the most dramatic moments of the war, the surrender of the German High Seas
Fleet in the Firth of Forth 21 November 1918. As a last European mission, New York joined the ships escorting President
Woodrow Wilson from an ocean rendezvous to Brest en route the Versailles Conference.
In 1937, carrying Admiral Hugh Rodman, the President's personal representative for the coronation of King George VI of
England, New York sailed to take part in the Grand Naval Review of 20 May 1937 as sole U.S. Navy representative.
From America's entry into World War II, New York guarded Atlantic convoys to Iceland and Scotland when the U-boat
menace was gravest. Submarine contacts were numerous, but the convoys were brought to harbor intact.
New York
brought her big guns to the invasion of North Africa, providing crucial gunfire support at Safi 8 November 1942. She then
stood by at Casablanca and Fedhala before returning home for convoy duty escorting critically needed men and supplies to North
Africa. She then took up important duty training gunners for battleships and destroyer escorts in Chesapeake Bay, rendering
this vital service until 10 June 1944, when she began the first of three training cruises for the Naval Academy, voyaging
to Trinidad on each.
New York prepared at Pearl Harbor for the planned invasion of Japan, and after war's end,
made a voyage to the West Coast returning veterans and bringing out their replacements. She sailed from Pearl Harbor again
29 September with passengers for New York, arriving 19 October. Here she prepared to serve as target ship in Operation
Crossroads, the Bikini atomic tests, sailing 4 March 1946 for the West Coast. She left San Francisco 1 May, and after
calls in Pearl Harbor and Kwajalein, reached Bikini 15 June. Surviving the surface blast 1 July and the underwater explosion
25 July, she was taken into Kwajalein and decommissioned there 29 August 1946. Later towed to Pearl Harbor, she was studied
during the next two years, and on 8 July 1948 was towed out to sea some 40 miles and there sunk after an eight-hour pounding
by ships and planes carrying out full-scale battle maneuvers with new weapons.New York received 3 battle stars for
World War II service.
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