Strength forged through sacrifice.

On September 11, 1911 in a Brooklyn Navy Yard the battleship USS New York was born. Commissioned a couple of years later she patrolled the waters of the Atlantic during World War 1 and then the Pacific in World War 2, where she received three stars during her service. In 1946 she was decommissioned and taken to Pearl harbor where she sat for two years, to be ultimately towed out some forty miles to sea then sunk intentionally during battle maneuvers.
On August 2004 in a shipyard in Louisiana a keel was laid for a ship. During its construction a hurricane named "Katrina" hit and battered the shipyard. In the aftermath 1,200 workers stayed to keep building the ship. Adversity could not dampen the spirit of this project. The ship was to be the U.S. Navy's latest addition to their fleet. This modern-day behemoth is 111 feet longer than the old battleship of which she replaces, the USS New York (BB-34). The bow stern includes some seven and a half tons of steel recovered from the World Trade Center's twin towers. "There was total reverence" the yard's operations manager said, "When the steel first arrived I touched it and the hair on the back of my neck stood up." USS NEW YORK (LPD-21) is coming home to her namesake city and state on November 2, 2009 and the ships motto: “Strength Forged through Sacrifice: Never Forget”.

The greatest battles are won in the face of adversity. In these tough times, know that sacrifices today will bring greater victories tomorrow. God's greatest gift of sacrifice should be our source of strength and this we should never forget.