Wichita Falls Native Serves Aboard 9/11 Memorial Warship

Tomorrow is the 25th anniversary of 9/11 and many will be sharing stories of where they were on that day. Turns out a Naval Officer from our area is currently serving on a very interesting warship.

Tomorrow will be a rough day for many Americans across the country. Memorials will be taking place across the country to honor the lives lost from those horrific terrorist attacks 25 years ago. The 9/11 memorial in New York City that opened fifteen years ago this week, is one way we honor those lives lost. This week I discovered a different memorial that many may not know about.

USS New York Made Out of Steel from the Twin Towers

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I actually found a pretty cool photo (seen above) from 2003 when they started melting down the steel from The World Trade Center to be used on the bow of the USS New York Warship for our Navy. Seven and a half tons of steel was melted down to make the bow. The warship also has a Memorial Passageway where a steel plate recovered from the World Trade Center rubble. The names of 9/11 victims are inscribed on a memorial in a passageway. The ship’s interior is also adorned with murals, posters, patches, and a firefighter’s helmet that honors first responders.

Wichita Falls Own Benjamin Frischmann Serves Aboard the USS New York

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Melissa ArmsKelly, Fleet Public Affairs Center Norfolk

Petty Officer 1st Class Benjamin Frischmann currently serves on the USS New York. Benjamin was 10-years-old when the September 11th terrorist attacks happened. "I only understood what I saw on the news at the time,” Frischmann said. “During Fleet Week New York last year, nearly every person I met remembered exactly where they were that day, and hearing stories from first responders was incredibly inspiring.”

Photo from USS New York Setting Sail in 2009

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Benjamin said he has become the fourth in his generation to sign up to serve. "Both of my parents serving on active duty and later retiring from the Navy, I knew at a young age that military service would likely be part of my future,” Frischmann said. “My grandfather was also a Marine Corps veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars, and I grew up listening to his sea stories.”

If you want to read more on Benjamin and the USS New York. The Navy Office of Community Outreach shared his story this week. You can read it in full here.