Hundreds Line Up Along Delaware River To Tour USS Somerset
By Justin Udo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The USS Somerset is a navy ship named in honor of the passengers of United Flight 93, who kept the plane from crashing into its intended target on September 11th. Instead, the flight crashed in Somerset County, PA.
For the next few days, the ship is docked in Philadelphia on the banks of Delaware where hundreds of people are lining up to take the tour.
Public affairs officer Alana Pence says the 684 foot ship even has a special link between the crash site and the craft:
"Part of the crane they used to kind of dig up the area, a piece of that was melted down and put into the hull of the ship."
Officer Pence adds when you are constantly working on this ship, you can forget just how amazing it is. But that amazement isn't lost on the hundreds who lined up to take a tour of the vessel.
Every tourist had their own favorite part:
"I enjoyed going on the cars."
"The hoovercraft."
"They've got a tank in there that's pretty big."
The 20-minute tours run from 1 p.m until 4 p.m. until Wednesday. The USS Somerset departs on March 4th.
