NORFOLK, Va. - It was a somber day at Naval Station Norfolk, as sailors gathered to remember the victims of 9/11 during a ceremony aboard the USS New York.
The ceremony was made even more special by the history of the ship; more than seven tons of steel from the World Trade Center was used to construct the hull.
Several people spoke at the event, to include Tony Tricarico, a firefighter who responded to the chaos that day.
"I couldn't believe it was happening, I thought it was a small aircraft, but it turned out to be what it was, and we responded," said Tricarico. "The hardest part was saying goodbye to my family, thinking that I wasn't coming home."
Tricarico said it's important to have ceremonies like the one Monday, so the world remembers.
"We need to keep these memories alive, just as we did for Pearl Harbor, just as we did for the Civil War, we need to keep these memories alive so that we don't forget where we came from and what we did," said Tricarico.
With the motto “Strength forged through sacrifice. Never forget.", the USS New York was commissioned on November 7, 2009 in New York City.
