USS Somerset (LPD-25)

Somerset Commissioning Ceremony from Philadelphia, PA. The Somerset is the ninth San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock and is named in honor of the courageous passengers of United Airlines Flight 93 which crashed near Shanksville in Somerset County, Pa during the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Somerset is the third of the three named in honor of those victims and first responders of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

USS Somerset represents the heroic actions of the 40 crew and passengers of United Flight 93 honoring their collective sacrifice and the tremendous courage displayed in the face of overwhelming adversity. Had it not been for their brave actions, the terrorists would have reached their intended target and countless more lives would have been lost. Upon formal commissioning USS Somerset (LPD 25) will proceed to its homeport of San Diego, Calif.

USS Somerset (LPD-25), a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock, is the fifth ship of the United States Navy of that name; in this case in honor of Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
The name honors the passengers of United Airlines Flight 93 whose actions prevented terrorist hijackers from reaching their intended target, forcing the airplane to crash in Stonycreek Township in Somerset County, PA, on 11 September 2001. In the words of Secretary of the Navy Gordon R. England, “The courage and heroism of the people aboard the flight will never be forgotten and USS Somerset will leave a legacy that will never be forgotten by those wishing to do harm to this country.” Some 22 tons of steel from a crane that stood near Flight 93’s crash site have been used to construct Somerset’s stemhold.

The contract to build Somerset was awarded on 21 December 2007, to Northrop Grumman Ship Systems of Pascagoula, Mississippi. Mrs. Mary Jo Myers, the wife of General Richard Myers, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is the ship’s sponsor. Somerset’s keel was laid down on 11 December 2009, at Northrop Grumman’s Avondale shipyard in New Orleans, Louisiana. She was launched on 14 April 2012, and was christened three months later, on 28 July. She completed acceptance trials in September 2013. On February 3, 2014 the USS Somerset was recorded as the last Navy ship to depart from the Avondale Ship Yard. The ship was commissioned on March 1, 2014 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.