NY Daily News

The vessel's bow stem comprises 7.5 tons of steel salvaged from the World Trade Center.

As the Navy notes: "The ship is named New York in honor of the state, the city and the victims of Sept. 11, 2001.... Use of this steel symbolizes the spirit and resiliency of the people of New York."

And the official motto of the vessel?

"Never Forget."

Earmarked for the Atlantic Fleet, the New York will be home-ported in Norfolk, Va., and carry a crew of 360 under the guiding hand of Cmdr. Curtis Jones of upstate Binghamton. It can carry a landing force of 800 Marines.

A formidable weapon in the war on terror. Fitting, too, that WTC steel forms the hull that parts the waters.

The massive, 684-foot-long ship was a sketch on a drawing board on 9/11 when the towers fell. Then-Gov. George Pataki led the effort to have it named the New York, a title last borne by a 1914-46 battleship. There was also the New York City, a nuclear submarine retired in 1997.

Back in 2006, the Daily News' Jonathan Lemire traveled to New Orleans to see the ship - really a floating memorial - under construction at Northrop Grumman, the work being done by the survivors of another tragedy, Hurricane Katrina.

As one project superintendent, Tony Quagliro, a 41-year shipyard veteran, explained to Lemire, through tears, "I was going to retire last year but I told my wife that I had to see this one final ship through. And this is the one ship I'll remember more than any other."

So, today, the New York gets its name, with FDNY and NYPD members and Rep. Vito Fossella attending.

But what about the rest of us?

Not to worry. After its sea trials and such, the New York will be officially commissioned sometime next year. Right here in New York City.

Exactly where, we do not know. But it would be fitting if the ceremony could be held in the Hudson near Ground Zero.