The Arlington County Board has approved $50,000 to support the creation of a Sept. 11 “Tribute Room” in the USS Arlington.
The ship, which will carry U.S. Marines, helicopters and expeditionary vehicles to hot spots around the world, is set to be commissioned on Saturday, April 6, in a ceremony that will be attended by numerous Arlington County officials and first responders. The ship was named the USS Arlington in commemoration of the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon.
The USS Arlington Commissioning Committee has been trying to raise $500,000 for the commissioning and for a Sept. 11 Tribute Room on the ship. Though the fundraising has recently hit a slow patch, with only 2/3 of the goal met, the Arlington County Board gave the effort a boost Tuesday night with a $50,000 allocation for the Tribute Room.
“This is a big week for the USS Arlington and for our community,” County Board Chairman Walter Tejada said in a statement. “It is fitting that the Board has approved funding for the ship’s Tribute Room just days before the USS Arlington sails into Norfolk, where it will be welcomed by some of the same first responders who performed so heroically on 9/11.”
The Tribute Room will “recognize and honor those who lost their lives at the Pentagon on 9/11 and to honor the heroic efforts of the first responders and emergency services who came to the rescue,” according to a press release. Navy regulations prohibit federal funds from being used for such a purpose.