The ship was named for Somerset County, Pennsylvania, in honor of the 40 passengers and crew who gave their lives on United Airways Flight 93, which was hijacked throughout the terrorist assaults of Sept. 11, 2001. The passengers and crew prevented the aircraft from reaching its supposed goal however tragically crashed in Stoneycreek Township in Somerset County.
“It is very important bear in mind those that got here earlier than us and honor their sacrifice,” stated Somerset Command Grasp Chief Jared Mueller. “The selfless acts of the Flight 93 passengers saved numerous lives, and their willpower evokes us each day.”
The Somerset crew was joined by members of the family of Andrew “Sonny” Garcia and Deora Bodley, two of the heroes of Flight 93. Crew members honored the sacrifice of the 40 heroes by ringing a bell and putting a flower for every particular person in a vase on a memorial desk.
“This can be a very particular ship – Somerset – certainly one of three constructed from the metal of the World Commerce Middle and from a mining machine in Somerset County,” stated Cmdr. Jeffrey Kelso, Somerset’s Govt Officer. “At any time when we’ve got households aboard Somerset, it reminds us why the ship was named after Somerset County, and that it’s of their honor.”
Along with the shipboard ceremony annually, Somerset sends Sailors to Somerset County to take part within the Flight 93 Nationwide Memorial 9/11 commemoration and different outreach occasions. Their presence fosters the robust relationship with the Somerset County neighborhood and permits Sailors to share the importance of being assigned to Somerset.
“It’s an absolute honor to be part of the Somerset crew and one of many Sailors chosen to take part within the 9/11 remembrance in Somerset County,” stated Lt. Edwin Handley, Somerset’s command chaplain. “Our ship honors the heroes of Flight 93 in every part it’s and does, and you will need to stick with it their legacy to teach youthful generations.”
Somerset is a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock assigned to Commander, Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 3 and residential ported in San Diego. The ship’s keel incorporates metal from a mining machine standing close to the crash web site in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Each deck of the ship incorporates mementos of Flight 93, together with a devoted passageway resulting in the Memorial Room, which bears the names of the passengers. Like its sister ships USS New York (LPD 21) and USS Arlington (LPD 24), Somerset was named in honor of those that misplaced their lives throughout the 9/11 terrorist assaults.
ESG 3 includes 4 amphibious squadrons, 11 amphibious warships, and eight naval help components together with roughly 18,000 active-duty and reserve Sailors and Marines. As Deputy Commander for Amphibious and Littoral Warfare, U.S. third Fleet, Commander, ESG 3 additionally oversees the 14 littoral fight ships below Littoral Fight Ship Squadron 1 and MCMGRU 3. ESG 3 is postured in help of U.S. third Fleet as a globally responsive and scalable naval command ingredient, able to producing, deploying, and using naval forces and formations for disaster and contingency response, ahead presence, and main fight operations specializing in amphibious operations, humanitarian and catastrophe reduction (HADR) and help to protection civil authorities (DSCA), and expeditionary logistics.
For extra information from Expeditionary Strike Group 3, go to https://www.surfpac.navy.mil/esg3/.
