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KITTERY — Navy tradition suggests that the spirit of a ship's sponsor goes to sea with its crew, and the new USS New Hampshire attack submarine joined the fleet Saturday with its sponsor urging its crews to endure and persevere.
Cheryl McGuinness, whose husband was a co-pilot of one of the airliners that crashed into the World Trade Center, said that as a former Navy wife she understands what'll be asked of the ship's crew — and their families — as New Hampshire heads to sea.
"These sailors are standing up for our country, standing up for freedom and standing up for our protection," she said.
"I understand the challenges that the sailors will endure for our sake and have a deep appreciation for all that they'll go through," she said. "We'll be praying for strength for them."
Veterans organizations lobbied the Navy to appoint McGuinness, of Portsmouth, N.H., to serve as sponsor. Her husband Tom, a former Navy fighter pilot, was co-pilot of American Airlines Flight 11, which was flown into the World Trade Center North Tower on Sept. 11, 2001.
She said she learned from her loss to pick herself up and to keep moving forward. She launched a ministry, Beauty Beyond the Ashes, and has remarried.
"When you have tough times in life, there's a way through it," she said before the ceremony. "Not only a way through it, but you can go further in your life than you ever thought before if you were willing to go through the pain, to persevere, and push your way through it."
The Virginia-class submarine is the third Navy warship to bear the name New Hampshire, and bears the state's motto: "Live Free or Die." The commissioning was held at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, the nation's oldest Navy shipyard.
About 3,000 invited guests were allowed onto the shipyard on an island between Maine and New Hampshire.
It is the fifth in the Virginia class of nuclear-powered attack submarines. They are designed to fill a number of roles, including sinking ships, launching cruise missiles, gathering intelligence and delivering Navy SEALs to trouble spots via a minisub carried piggyback-style.
The 377-foot submarine has a crew of about 130 sailors and officers.
