The New York Daily News reported Dotty England, wife of Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, christened the amphibious-assault ship Saturday with the traditional smashing of a champagne bottle across its hull.

The $1 billion, 25,000-ton vessel was on the drawing board at the time of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The idea of incorporating steel beams salvaged from Ground Zero was made a year later, the newspaper reported.

The ship, named to honor those killed in the terrorist attacks, has the official motto of "Never Forget."

Lee Ielpi, president of the September 11th Families' Association, lost his son, Jonathan, a firefighter, in the attacks.

"This ship, as it cuts through the water, is going to send a ripple," Ielpi said. "That ripple will say, 'We cherish our freedom.'"