Staff Sgt. Thomas Hartick of Oceanside led the initial assault team that boarded the ship, which was adrift about 85 miles southeast of Mukallah, Yemen.
Using a translator, the Marines tried for several hours to persuade the pirates - young men, some shoeless and some wearing sandals, to surrender. After getting the go-ahead from the White House and the Pentagon, the Marines boarded small assault boats, sped to the Magellan Star and climbed aboard. The Marines didn't have to fire any shots, but they did use "flash-bang" grenades as they entered ship compartments in search of all nine pirates.
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