Christmas Day 1944 never came for four Westmoreland County natives and 759 fellow servicemen who were passengers on a World War II troop transport ship headed for Cherbourg, France.

Source: https://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/westmoreland-natives-killed-in-christmas-eve-1944-u-boat-attack-have-lives-preserved-digitally/

In November, the Houthis seized a vehicle transport ship also linked to Israel in the Red Sea off Yemen.

Source: https://apnews.com/article/red-sea-houthi-yemen-ships-attack-israel-hamas-war-gaza-strip-716770f0a780160e9abed98d3c48fbde

It all concerned the fate of Japan’s converted military transport ship, the Montevideo Maru, as it sailed in the waters north of the Philippines on the night of June 30, 1942.

Source: https://www.theage.com.au/world/europe/australians-honoured-for-solving-shipwreck-mystery-that-haunted-the-king-of-norway-20231105-p5ehoc.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_world

This was followed earlier this month by an incident in which a Chinese navy vessel of a Philippine navy transport ship close to Thitu Island, the largest and most strategically important of the Philippine-occupied features in the South China Sea.

Source: https://thediplomat.com/2023/10/chinese-philippine-vessels-collide-near-contested-shoal/