thedrifter
07-18-09, 06:37 AM
NAVY SHIP SHOWS TRADE CENTER METTLE
By JUSTIN ROCKET SILVERMAN
July 18, 2009 --
TONS of steel from the World Trade Center were melted down to construct the bow of the new USS New York. But for her silver, the ship is relying on New Yorkers themselves.
When the warship powers into New York Harbor to receive her commission this fall, she will be presented with hundreds of pieces of engraved Tiffany silver from a registry that opened this month. A ship's silver service is part of a naval tradition, and is passed down from ship to ship that carries the same name.
This USS New York's pieces will bear the names of people, including some who died on 9/11.
"It's very unusual for a ship to have a silver registry open to individuals," says Sally McElwreath, a retired Navy Reserve captain. "Yet because of all the meaning attached to this ship, we wanted people to donate pieces in the names of their loved ones."
Cmdr. Curt Jones, the first captain of this USS New York, calls the responsibility of his new job "awesome in the truest sense of the word.
"As far as I know, this is the first time they have melted down metal from another event and put it into a new ship," he says. "It was put into the bow, one of the strongest points of the ship and the one that leads her forward."
Of course, this being a ship named after the Big Apple, she will be able to kick some serious butt. More than 700 Marines can take part in any amphibious assaults launched from the ship. And like New Yorkers themselves, the men and women stationed aboard will make personal fitness a priority. This type of ship is the first in the Navy to have a special gym area.
The Tiffany silver pieces range in price from about $100 for a spoon to upward of $13,000 for a serving tray (such as the one above). They can be ordered through the ship's official commissioning Web site at ussny.org.
And in case there is any doubt, the USS New York will be rooting for the Yankees, not the Mets. "That decision rolls with the captain," says Jones. "I grew up a Yankees fan, and that means we are a Yankees boat."
Ellie
By JUSTIN ROCKET SILVERMAN
July 18, 2009 --
TONS of steel from the World Trade Center were melted down to construct the bow of the new USS New York. But for her silver, the ship is relying on New Yorkers themselves.
When the warship powers into New York Harbor to receive her commission this fall, she will be presented with hundreds of pieces of engraved Tiffany silver from a registry that opened this month. A ship's silver service is part of a naval tradition, and is passed down from ship to ship that carries the same name.
This USS New York's pieces will bear the names of people, including some who died on 9/11.
"It's very unusual for a ship to have a silver registry open to individuals," says Sally McElwreath, a retired Navy Reserve captain. "Yet because of all the meaning attached to this ship, we wanted people to donate pieces in the names of their loved ones."
Cmdr. Curt Jones, the first captain of this USS New York, calls the responsibility of his new job "awesome in the truest sense of the word.
"As far as I know, this is the first time they have melted down metal from another event and put it into a new ship," he says. "It was put into the bow, one of the strongest points of the ship and the one that leads her forward."
Of course, this being a ship named after the Big Apple, she will be able to kick some serious butt. More than 700 Marines can take part in any amphibious assaults launched from the ship. And like New Yorkers themselves, the men and women stationed aboard will make personal fitness a priority. This type of ship is the first in the Navy to have a special gym area.
The Tiffany silver pieces range in price from about $100 for a spoon to upward of $13,000 for a serving tray (such as the one above). They can be ordered through the ship's official commissioning Web site at ussny.org.
And in case there is any doubt, the USS New York will be rooting for the Yankees, not the Mets. "That decision rolls with the captain," says Jones. "I grew up a Yankees fan, and that means we are a Yankees boat."
Ellie