[FOUNTAIN]Never forget

September 11, 2001. Two airplanes hijacked by the al-Qaeda terrorists head toward the World Trade Center in New York. Another plane crashes into the Pentagon, the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense. This is the attack that made the world shudder in fear.
Meanwhile, at the same time in another hijacked airplane, passengers were fighting to the death to regain control from the four hijackers. This is a story about the fourth hijacked plane. The current situation back then was revealed vividly through a black-box tape recently opened to the public in a court in America.
In the 32-minute long tape, passengers cry out, “Get into the cockpit, if we can’t catch them, we all die. Let’s roll.” Hijackers repeatedly pray “Allahu akbar” (God is great). Due to the bold actions taken by the passengers, the plane was not able to be used as the weapon of the terrorists. It crashed in the fields of Shankville, a town in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
United 93. A film with the title same as the flight number of the plane will be released starting next Friday in North America. The movie poster has the phrase “Never Forget” written on it.
The courage of the passengers in this flight has become legendary.
Navy Secretary Gordon England announced that he named the next amphibious transport dock, which was ordered on Sept. 11, 2004, as USS Somerset in honor of the victims. On the same day, another ship was named the USS Arlington. Arlington is the name of the county in Virginia where the Pentagon is located.
The ships of the U.S. Navy are usually named after cities in America such as San Antonio or New Orleans. It is an exceptional case to name a ship after a county.
Naval Secretary England had already broken this custom on Aug. 28, 2002. He used the name USS New York, after the state, not the city. He wanted to name it after the city, but the submarine New York was already named after New York City. Navy ships are sent to attack objects with a large amount of military forces and arms, so it was a fitting way to remember 9/11.
When announcing the naming of the USS Somerset, Naval Secretary England said the following.
“The courage and heroism of the people aboard the flight will never be forgotten and the USS Somerset will leave a legacy that will never be forgotten by those wishing to do harm to this country.”
America is a country with steadiness and consistency. The power of a country comes from those characteristics.

by Chae In-taek

The writer is a deputy international news editor at the JoongAng Ilbo