NEW YORK CITY--Members of the New York Naval Militia march past the USS New York, the latest addition to the United States Navy, during a ceremony welcoming the amphibious assault ship to New York on Monday, Nov. 2.
The ship was constructed with steel from the World Trade Center in its bow to memorialize the New Yorkers killed on Sept. 11, 2001. Members of the Naval Militia and the New York Army and Air National Guard were among those participating in the ceremonies.
Brig. Gen. Paul Genereux, commander of the New York Army National Guard and former commander of the 42nd Infantry Division, presented the ship with a "Never Forget" flag flown by the 42nd Infantry Division in Iraq in 2005. The flag, commissioned by the division, commemorates the attack and the deaths that day, Never Forget is the division's motto.