USS Somerset (LPD-25)

USS Somerset (LPD-25), a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock, is the fifth ship of the United States Navy of that name; in this case in honor of Somerset County, Pennsylvania.

The name honors the passengers of United Airlines Flight 93 whose actions prevented terrorist hijackers from reaching their intended target, forcing the airplane to crash in Stonycreek Township in Somerset County, PA, on 11 September 2001. In the words of Secretary of the Navy Gordon R. England, "The courage and heroism of the people aboard the flight will never be forgotten and USS Somerset will leave a legacy that will never be forgotten by those wishing to do harm to this country." Some 22 tons of steel from a crane that stood near Flight 93's crash site have been used to construct Somerset's stemhold.

The contract to build Somerset was awarded on 21 December 2007, to Northrop Grumman Ship Systems of Pascagoula, Mississippi. Mrs. Mary Jo Myers, the wife of General Richard Myers, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is the ship's sponsor. Somerset's keel was laid down on 11 December 2009, at Northrop Grumman's Avondale shipyard in New Orleans, Louisiana. She was launched on 14 April 2012, and was christened three months later, on 28 July. She completed acceptance trials in September 2013. The ship's commissioning is tentatively scheduled for the first quarter of 2014.