Image courtesy of the US Navy; public domain.

Sometimes recycling isn’t just about being kind to the earth – it’s about sanctifying recent history.

Case in point – the USS New York, a San Antonio-class amphibious transport. More than seven tons of steel in its bow stem comes from scrap recycled from the smoldering ruins of Ground Zero, the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.

In the wake of the September attacks, New York Governor George E. Pataki requested that the Navy name one of its ships USS New York, to commemorate the victims of the tragedy.     (read more)

Image courtesy of the US Navy; public domain.

The recycled steel was melted down in Amite, Louisiana, and cast into the ship’s bow section. According to reports, shipyard workers at the Northrop Grumman Shipyard treated the bow stem with reverence, with one worker putting off his retirement to complete the project.

Last week, the ship steamed off down the Mississippi River to arrive in New York for its commissioning ceremony on November 9. After its commissioning, the New York will be stationed at the Norfolk Naval base in Virginia.

The New York is the first of three Navy ships named after areas where the hijacked planes crashed on September 11. The other two are the Somerset (named after the Pennsylvania county) and the Arlington (named after the district around the Pentagon).

Poetically, anti-terrorism will be one of the New York’s areas of operation – the New York can carry up to 800 Marines into a hot zone, serving as a jump-off for helicopters and troop transport ship.