For the first time since 1944, american naval forces--in this case marines stationed aboard ship--have boarded and siezed a ship under hostile control. The ship was the Magellan Star, a German owned comercial vessel that had been taken by pirates.
The last time our naval services siezed a hostil vessel was in 1944, when a boarding party lead by David Gellery (who later became a Rear Admiral) siezed, of all things, a German submarine. The U-505 was taken by boarders in the North Atlantic, and is now on display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chigaco, IL. The Last time before that was during the war of 1812.
Maybe we should issue our Sailors and Sea School Marines Cutlasses, for traditions sake. Besides, whenever something is declared to be a thing of the past in Naval and Ground Warfare, it seems to make a comeback!
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