When the USS New York sailed into the New York Harbor on Monday, it was the first time hull technician Bill Sisk had been back since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
It was humbling, he said.
The 1997 Homewood-Flossmoor High School graduate enlisted in the Navy when he was 19 and was on an aircraft carrier near New York when hijacked planes hit the World Trade Center towers. The carrier raced toward the harbor and Sisk could see smoke billowing from the skyline.
Now assigned to the USS New York, he has a physical reminder of that day. The bow of the ship was built with 7.5 tons of steel scavenged from the rubble of the World Trade Center.
Sisk, 30, will re-enlist in the Navy for a third time -- at 9:30 a.m. today at ground zero.
"I'm due to re-enlist some time before March anyway," he said. "So, why not in New York?"
The USS New York was built in Louisiana and voyaged to New York City, where the ship has been open for tours. It will be commissioned there on Saturday, according to the USS New York Web site.
"There's a very strong sense of pride in the ship, in the entire crew," Sisk said.
When the ship pulled in 10:30 a.m. Monday, the harbor was full of motorboats and tugboats shooting water. More than a dozen helicopters hovered overheard, and the ship gave a 21-gun salute when it passed the site of the World Trade Center, Sisk said.
"It was quite a turnout," he said. "You walk down the streets of New York, everybody shakes your hand."
His mom, Schererville resident Debbie Sisk, said her son is a good leader.
"He's just such a blessing to me," she said. "His father died when (Bill) was 5 years old and was in kindergarten. He could've been a bad kid or a good kid, and look how far he's come.
"Some sailors joined the Navy after 9/11, and they just couldn't handle it," she said. "My son has been through a lot. He's a good leader, and he was there for them. There was nothing but tears."
