History: There's A First Time For Everything

This little paragraph appeared in the Anchorage Daily News’ “World Report” section last Friday:

NAIROBI – In a predawn raid with helicopters hovering nearby, 24 U.S. Marines scaled the sides of a hijacked ship in the Gulf of Aden Thursday, arrested the nine pirates on board and freed the German-owned cargo vessel, the Magellan Star, and its 11-member crew – all without firing a shot, the American military said. American officials said the rescue appeared to be the first time the American military had boarded a ship commandeered by Somali pirates, who have been hijacking vessel after vessel off Somalia’s coast and wreaking havoc on the shipping lanes.

As my mother is fond of saying, there’s a first time for everything.

Picture via Getty Images.