Love just love and definitely Paying Tribute to those who serve, now in Ft Lauderdale
USS NEW YORK – THE SHIP FORGED FROM WORLD TRADE CENTER STEEL
There are many monuments around the world commemorating the attacks of 11 September 2001, from the iconic reflecting pools at the official 9/11 Memorial in New York City to the piece of World Trade Center steel that stands sentinel at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
All the memorials are very moving. But only one is actually mobile. Carrying a crew of nearly 400 sailors and Marines, the USS New York is a 684-foot testament to the memory of all those who died on that fateful day, including the first responders who laid down their lives to save others. This tribute is reflected in the ship’s motto: “Strength forged through sacrifice. Never forget”.
The USS New York also commemorates the victims of 9/11 through a daily tradition where the ship’s chaplain chooses the name of someone who died in the attacks and honours them, sharing key details about their life – their job, hobbies, dreams and family. The names of the victims are displayed on a banner inside the ship.
The ship’s largest tribute to the victims of 9/11 is less visible, but no less significant. The ship’s bow stem (the part of the hull at the very front of the ship, just beneath the waterline) was forged from 7.5 tons of steel recovered from Ground Zero at the World Trade Center. According to reports, the steel foundry workers treated the reclaimed girders “with a reverence usually accorded to religious relics”. One of the workers even postponed his retirement just so that he could take part in the project.
USS Cole Bombing
On October 12, 2000, two suicide pilots of a small bomb-laden boat pulled alongside of the USS Cole at midship, offered friendly gestures to several crew members, and detonated their explosives.
The U.S. destroyer, en route to the Persian Gulf, was making a prearranged fuel stop at the port of Aden, Yemen, when the attack occurred.
The blast ripped a 40-foot-wide hole near the waterline of the Cole, killing 17 U.S. sailors and injuring nearly 40 other crew members.
USS Cole (DDG-67) was laid down on 28 February 1994 at Pascagoula, MS, by Ingalls Shipbuilding Division, Litton Industries; launched on 10 January 1995; sponsored by Mrs. Lee Perry, wife of Secretary of Defense William J. Perry; and commissioned on 8 June 1996 at Port Everglades, FL, Commander M. Stewart O’Bryan in command.
On 8 August 2000, with Kirk S. Lippold in command, Cole was deployed with guided missile frigate Simpson (FFG-56) and Military Sealift Command (MSC)-manned oiler USNS John Lenthall (T-AO-189) from Norfolk to the Mediterranean, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Indian Ocean. On 12 October, while Cole refueled at Aden, Yemen, two al-Qaeda terrorists brought an inflatable Zodiac-type speedboat that carried a bomb alongside the destroyer, port side amidships, and detonated their lethal cargo. The explosion blew a 40-foot wide hole in Cole, but the crew’s valiant damage control efforts saved her.
The attack killed 17 Sailors: 31-year-old Lt. j.g. Andrew Triplett; 35-year-old ETC Richard D. Costelow; 30-year-old EW1 Kevin S. Rux; 21-year-old HT2 Kenneth E. Clodfelter; 24-year-old EN2 Mark I. Nieto; 24-year-old EW2 Ronald S. Owens; 32-year-old OS2 Timothy L. Saunders; 22-year-old MS3 Ronchester M. Santiago; 19-year-old MSSN Lakeina M. Francis; 21-year-old ITSN Timothy L. Gauna; 22-year-old SMSN Cherone L. Gunn; 19-year-old ITSN James R. McDaniels; 22-year-old SN Lakiba N. Palmer; 19-year-old ENFN Joshua L. Parlett; 19-year-old FN Patrick H. Roy; 26-year-old FN Gary Swenchonis Jr.; and 19-year-old SN Craig B. Wibberley. In addition, 37 of their shipmates sustained wounds.
The ships that supported Cole during Operation Determined Response from 12-31 October 2000 included: amphibious assault ship Tarawa (LHA-1); dock landing ship Anchorage (LSD-36); amphibious transport dock Duluth (LPD-6); guided missile destroyer Donald Cook (DDG-75); guided missile frigate Hawes (FFG-53); and Military Sealift Command (MSC)-manned tug USNS Catawba (T-ATF-168); along with Marines of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), and British frigates Cumberland (F.85) and Marlborough (F.233).
Cole carried out emergent repairs and on 29 October stood out of Aden. The following day, MSC-manned heavy lift vessel Blue Marlin loaded the destroyer on board and sailed her to Pascagoula for extensive repairs, reaching that port on 13 December. Cole’s crewmembers were flown to Rhein-Main AFB Germany, and from there to Norfolk, VA. Cole’s Sailors then completed convalescent leave through 1 December, and the ship returned to the water on Christmas Eve and continued repairs and maintenance into 2001. On 12 October 2001, the USS Cole (DDG-67) Memorial was dedicated at Naval Station Norfolk to honor the memory of the victims. The Navy subsequently enhanced global force protection training during crucial transits, and Sailors qualified to fire M60 and Browning M2 .50 caliber machine guns to defend against assaults by low-slow flying aircraft and small boats.
https://www.history.navy.mil/news-and-events/multimedia-gallery/infographics/heritage/the_history_of_darrell_s_cole.html
https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/uss-cole-bombing
No tickets, I would have loved to see, managed a far away picture
IT ALL STARTS WITH LOVE: FAITH, BELIEF, HOPE 
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