Navy Vessel to Use Steel from area of Flight 93 Crash Site

The bow stem of the USS Somerset will be constructed using 22 tons of steel from a crane that sat near the Flight 93 crash site on September 11, 2001. Both New York and Arlington have navy ships named after them that incorporate material from their crash sites. Somerset County Commissioner John Vatavuk says the steel comes from a crane that was sitting near a reclaimed strip mine near Shanksville at the time of the crash. Vatavuk will head down to Avondale, Louisina later this week for the ceremony that kicks off construction of the ship. He says it should be finished by 2011 or 2012. Vatavuk says the ship will be a living memorial to the victims of Flight 93 as it makes it way around the world. He hopes the vessel's christening will take place in Philadelphia or Baltimore so southwestern Pennsylvanian's can travel to see it.