A former New Castle resident will be on the USS New York when it is commissioned today.

Robert M. Fullwood, a Marine corporal, is on special assignment to the amphibious vessel.

The bow of the $1 billion ship contains about 7.5 tons of steel from the World Trade Center towers that were destroyed by hijacked jetliners in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The assault ship was built at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems near New Orleans and arrived in New York City on Monday.

After it left Louisiana, it picked up crew members — including Fullwood — at Camp LeJuene in North Carolina, according to his mother, Cassy Fullwood.

Although Fullwood will not be assigned to this ship, his temporary duty on it included raising the flag on Monday, his mother said.

A 2005 graduate of New Castle High School, Fullwood entered the Marines in July of that year.

Since then, he has served seven months in Fallujah, Iraq, as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and on the USS Carter Hall as part of the Iwo Jima Strike Force in the Middle East. He returned to Camp LeJuene, where he is stationed, in March.

Fullwood is a son of Cassy and Bob Fullwood of Sheridan Avenue.