During a recent House legislative session, Del. Patrick A. Hope joined by Del. Robert Brink, presented each of his 139 colleagues in the Virginia legislature with a commemorative coin that celebrates the commissioning of the Navy’s newest ship, the USS Arlington.
Hope explained that the name of the ship honors the first responders who went to aid the Pentagon on 9/11, and pays tribute to the memories of those lost that day. The cost of the coins was underwritten by Washington Gas, which provides natural gas services to all of Arlington including the Pentagon.
Brink introduced Captain Kevin Reardon of the Arlington County Police Department, who designed the coin to commemorate the Commissioning. Reardon, a member of the USS Arlington Commissioning Committee, was among the hundreds of Arlington first responders who were on duty on 9/11 and aided those injured in the attack on the nation’s military headquarters.