Free Republic

AVONDALE, La. — The USS Somerset — the last of three Navy ships named for 9/11 attack sites — was christened Saturday in honor of the passengers and crew of the plane that crashed before terrorists could reach their intended target. Passengers of United Airlines Flight 93 stormed the cockpit and thwarted an attack on Washington, but the plane crashed in Somerset County, Pa., killing all 40 passengers and crew members. “The men and women of Flight 93 ... thought they were going to San Francisco to work, to play, to learn; to live their lives in peace while others...

<p>AVONDALE, La. (AP) - A ceremony steeped in shipbuilding tradition kicked off major construction Friday on a U.S. Navy assault vessel named in honor of United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.</p> <p>It is the second of three new Navy ships named for the sites of the Sept. 11 attacks. The USS New York entered service last month and the Arlington, memorializing the strike on the Pentagon, is under construction.</p>