USS Somerset Dedicated To Flight 93 Victims: Captain Says ‘Somerset, Let’s Roll’

A new warship. the USS Somerset, has been commissioned and named after that area of southwestern Pennsylvania in which Flight 93 crashed on September 11, 2001.

The amphibious transport dock craft was formally commission on Saturday in front of a crowd of 5000 people at Penn’s landing. The USS Somerset was named to honor the memory of the the 40 passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93 who fought with the Arab terrorists who had earlier hijacked the plane on that fateful day.

Senator Pat Toomey said, “What we commemorate is not that war or an attack on America. We commemorate the day America began to fight back.”

The Somerset is the third US Navy ship to be named in honor of 9/11 victims. The US Navy previously commissioned the USS New York and USS Arlington to honor those killed in the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon.

When the crew were on board, Somerset’s commanding officer, Capt. Thomas Dearborn, uttered the famous phrase, “Somerset, let’s roll,” commemorating Flight 93 passenger Todd Beamer’s famous rallying cry.

Beamer is reputed to have helped lead the passenger rebellion which sadly resulted in the plane crashing about 50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. The authorities believe the hijackers planned to target either the White House or Capitol.

The Somerset was formally named in Avondale, La., at the Huntington Ingalls shipyard in 2012. It was subsequently delivered to the U.S. Navy in October 2013.

Although the ship was dedicated to the memory of the victims of Flight 93, for many of the relatives and loved ones who attended the ceremony, it was a small comfort and they still felt the pain of their loss.

As Rodrick Thornton, 68, of Radcliff, Kentucky, put it, referring to his cousin LeRoy Homer Jr., who was the first officer of Flight 93, “I’d rather have him instead of the ship.”

But Carol Heiderich, 59, whose brother Capt. Jason Dahl was the plane’s pilot, said that she felt the ship was a fitting tribute to the passengers and crew: “It’s such an honor to have our family members remembered in this way.”

Dave Whelan, 67, said he thought the USS Somerset embodied the spirit of the country. He was a cousin of passenger Richard Guadagno: “This is us, this is our country. This ship and the people on it will be prepared to do whatever they have to do.”

Whelan’s wife, Carol, said:

“It’s showing honor to our family members, to the heroes of Flight 93. It shows that we’re not forgetting. It’s been many years now and I’m hoping that 50 years from now when my grandson goes to Shanksville, they still remember.”

For those not directly affected, the terrible events of September 11, 2001, are slowly fading into history.

But, for the loved ones of the victims, the memory is always alive.

The USS Somerset and its sister ships will ensure that the memory does not die.