And these are the ones we know about. The truly remarkable ones are those we’ll never hear about.
These were great raids, of course, but the so-called “Great Raid” of the US Army Rangers in 1945 to free the survivors of the Bataan Death March should be included. That raid was the Rangers’ first real operation and went deep into Japanese territory to the prison camp at Cabanatuan in the Philippines.
To the Shores of Tripoli
In April 1805 the US Navy, with U.S. Marines, launched an operation against the port of Tripoli. The objective was to install a new ruler.
The detachment of Marines, under the command of Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon, led a frontal assault on a harbor fort at the Battle of Derna. O'Bannon and his small force captured the fort.
Marking the first American victory on foreign soil, O'Bannon raised an American flag over the fortress. The mention of the "shores of Tripoli" in the "Marine's Hymn" refers to this triumph.
A new pasha was installed in Tripoli, and he presented O'Bannon with a curved "Mameluke" sword, which is named for North African warriors. To this day Marine dress swords replicate the sword given to O'Bannon.