American Imperialism Continues its Relentless March...

By Charlie

ABOARD USS DECATUR, At Sea - USS Decatur (DDG 73), operating as part of the Pakistani-led Combined Task Force 150, came to the aid of a distressed vessel off the coast of Somalia, April 28, and rescued seven Somali fishermen who'd run out of food and supplies.
The fishermen reported they'd been underway for three days when their engine failed. Although they attempted to rig a makeshift sail out of a tarp, the strong
current overpowered their efforts and pushed them further out to sea.

On their twelfth day adrift, the fishermen were spotted by a Sea Hawk (SH-60B) helicopter from the USS Roosevelt (DDG 80). The helicopter requested that a nearby dhow assist the mariners in the skiff. Decatur, upon hearing the bridge-to-bridge radio conversation between the helicopter and the dhow, proceeded towards the two vessels to render assistance.

Well, no pirates were involved off of the Somali coast this time. BUT, I do have a bit of history to relate about the name of the rescue ship. Commodore Stephen Decatur was the Jack Bauer of the early 19th Century:

(via Wikipedia):

Commodore Stephen Decatur, Jr. (January 5, 1779 – March 22, 1820) was an American naval officer notable for his heroism in actions at Tripoli, Libya in the Barbary Wars and in the War of 1812.

Given command of the brig Argus in 1803, he took it to the Mediterranean for service in the First Barbary War against Tripoli. Once in the combat zone, Lieutenant Decatur commanded the schooner Enterprise and, on 23 December 1803, captured the enemy ketch Mastico. That vessel, taken into the U.S. Navy under the name Intrepid, was used by Decatur on 16 February 1804 to execute a night raid into Tripoli harbor to destroy the former U.S. frigate Philadelphia, which had been captured after running aground at the end of October 1803. Admiral Lord Nelson is said to have called this "the most bold and daring act of the age."

This daring and extremely successful operation made Lieutenant Decatur an immediate national hero, a status that was enhanced by his courageous conduct during the 3 August 1804 bombardment of Tripoli. In that action, he led his men in hand-to-hand fighting while boarding and capturing an enemy gunboat. Decatur was subsequently promoted to the rank of Captain, and over the next eight years had command of several frigates.

And if that wasn't enough, he went back for round two:

In May 1815, Commodore Decatur sailed his squadron to the Mediterranean Sea to conduct the Second Barbary War, which put an end to the international practice of paying tribute to pirate states. For this campaign he became known as "the Conqueror of the Barbary Pirates."

The only question is: can his cell phone get reception in the hold of a cargo aircraft in flight?

May 9, 2006 03:21 PM General Interest

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Comments

Commodore Stephen Decatur was the Jack Bauer of the early 17th Century:

Commodore Stephen Decatur, Jr. (January 5, 1779 – March 22, 1820)

That would be the late 18th and early 19th century.

Robert Schwartz · May 9, 2006 04:58 PM

Decatur also indirectly gave us another USN hero: Reuben James. Wikipedia's entry on him is so good it doesn't even have to mention his race (he was Black) to stir up interest.

kross · May 10, 2006 06:26 AM