AVALON, La., July 29 (UPI) -- The Navy Saturday christened the USS Somerset, an amphibious transport ship named in honor of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attack victims killed in Pennsylvania.
The Somerset is named for the Pennsylvania county where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed when passengers stormed the cockpit after the jetliner was taken over by terrorists with the intent of ramming it into the U.S. Capitol or the White House.
"They did harm to those who would hurt us," Rear Adm. David Lewis, Navy ships program executive officer, said at the christening in Avalon, La. "They fought like lions."
Vice Adm. William R. Burke, deputy chief of naval operations, lauded the selflessness of the passengers of Flight 93 and the inspiration they provided the rest of the nation, the Picayune (Miss.) Item reported.
"Their sacrifice guided the rest of America," Burke said.
Also attending the christening were several family members of those killed on Flight 93.
"We recognize them today as being the first to fight back," said Patrick White, president of Families of Flight 93.
The Somerset was the last of three warships dedicated to the sites of the three terror attack sites. The other two are the USS New York and the USS Arlington. The New York is named for the city where the World Trade Center towers were toppled by two jetliners and the Arlington honors the site of the Pentagon, which also was hit by a jetliner hijacked by terrorists.
