The ship was named for Admiral Günther Lütjens , who commanded a battlegroup comprising the and the cruiser during Operation Rheinübung ( Exercise Rhine ) . Lütjens was killed when '' Bismarck '' was surrounded by overwhelming British naval force on 27 May 1941 in the North Atlantic . She was laid down at Bath Iron Works in Bath , Maine on 1 March 1966 with the hull classification symbol DDG-28 . She was launched on 11 August 1967 and commissioned on 22 March 1969 . On 14 September 2001 , three days after the terrorist attacks on 11 September , the crew of '' Lütjens '' manned the rails , and as they approached the destroyers and , they displayed an American flag and a banner reading " We Stand By You . " After over 30 years of service and a travelled distance of '' Lütjens '' was decommissioned on 18 December 2003 . She was the last steam-powered vessel and the last ship classified as a destroyer of the German Navy .
terrorist attacks on 11 September
September 11 attacks
German destroyer Lütjens