Building a naval warship is like no other job in the world.

It is not just creating a very large collection of welded and machined fabrications, it is creating a very large object that moves with purpose and, to the men and women who serve aboard it, something that becomes more than just an object. It becomes an entity with idiosyncratic characteristics that make it feel like it has a life of its own.

In February of 2008 the large steel structure called LPD 21 was lowered into the muddy waters of the Mississippi River at the Northrop Grumman shipyard in Avondale, Louisiana.

As the water rose up the sides of the hull it reached a point where the steel structure began to lift free from the blocks on which it had been built. The hull began to float and to move in response to the current of the river. As it moved it seemed to absorb kinetic energy from the river - the energy of motion - and in that moment the steel structure became more than a collection of welded fabrications. It became a ship.

The ship was far from complete, but it was a ship nonetheless and a few weeks later, amidst a ceremony filled with pomp and splendor, speeches and flag waving the ship was christened and given a name - it became the New York. There is still a lot of work to be done to make it ready to fulfill its role as an amphibious assault ship capable of delivering up to 800 U.S. Marines and their combat equipment wherever in the world they are needed. Once construction is complete there will be several more months of sea trials by the builder and the U.S. Navy to finish the transformation from a collection of welded fabrication to a naval warship ready for active duty.

When the ship is eventually ready for active service, it will be taken to its namesake, the city of New York, and in another ceremony it will be commissioned into the Navy and the name changed to the USS New York. The ship's motto is “Never Forget” in remembrance of the terrorist attacks the U.S. suffered on September 11, 2001.

That moment when LPD 21 first began to float in the waters of the Mississippi River was not the first time the ship was infused with energy. Every man and woman who has worked on that ship from the day its keel was laid in September, 2004 infused the ship with the energy of purpose.

LPD 21 is no ordinary ship.

It was, and is, a tangible expression of the indomitable spirit of Americans to rise up from tragedy and overcome those who would do us ill. It is a direct response to the tragedy America suffered on September 11, 2001, and for everyone who has had the opportunity to help build LPD 21 it became a way to strike back at our attackers

Tom Quaglino has been working at Northrop Grumman's Avondale shipyard for 41 years and was going to retire until he heard about LPD 21.

“It's important to me and the rest of these guys to be a part of this ship,” Quaglino said.

“What happened with us with Hurricane Katrina added to the emphasis. It hit home for us because with out trials and tribulations after Katrina we can identify on a personal level with New York's loss even more,” he added.

The connection with the tragedy in New York was intensified when the shipyard workers learned that part of the steel that was salvaged from the wreckage of the World Trade Center had been shipped to a foundry in Louisiana, smelted down and cast into the bow stem for LPD 21. The bow stem is the forward-most part of a ship's hull that cuts through the water.

“When that steel came in to the foundry and I laid my hands on a piece of it, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. There was something present in the air,” Junior Chavers, plant operations manager at Amite Foundry and Machine, said.

“A lot of our people saw the details about 9/11 on TV but there didn't seem to be anything we could do about it,” “Big” Randy Edwards, assistant to the ship superintendent, said.

“Then we found out that the metal was going to be in this ship, and it touched a lot of people. It gave us a way to show support for what those folks in New York suffered. Everyone working on this ship thinks about that every day. The ship is something special. Nobody complains about working in the heat or the rain like they usually do. I think everyone is trying to do the best job they can on this ship.”

A manager at the shipyard noted that when the bow stem was delivered to the yard everyone stopped working and walked over to look at it, some to touch it. The bow stem had become a sacred talisman that would also infuse the ship with its own special energy.

“To me, that bow stem has two meanings: It's an obvious symbol of this nation's ongoing efforts to fight the global war on terror, and it is also a memorial of reverence to the folks that died on 9/11. This will be my last ship, and I feel honored I got to work on it,” Quaglino added.

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