When I was a cadet, we had a 'pass in review' parade in front of the College's Commanding Admiral and his guests, every Saturday morning before we went on liberty. As a First class (4th year) Cadet Asst. Platoon Officer, I was 'armed' with a std. Naval officer's sword, as were the other regimental officers. The other Cadets carried Springfield 1903A3 (The members of the Pershing Rifles Drill team had M1 Garands for drills and demos. (I was a 'Pershing Rifle myself)
Anyhow, I recall one Saturday as the platoon ahead of mine passed the Admiral, their Platoon officers flourished their sword in salute. I gathered later that the Platoon leader and his assistant, who were room-mates, got their swords mixed up - the swords were assigned specific lengths based on the wearer's height (mine was 29in.) so they would not touch the ground during use (saluting). The swords were nice shiny stainless steel. Anyway the Taller officer wound up with the shorter sword, and his shorter companion had the slightly longer one. He hit the ground right in front of the Admiral. The blade snapped about halfway. Rather embarrassed and red-faced, he continued the salute and the parade as if he still had a complete sword.
The remaining platoons passed the admiral, with the quite obvious half blade sticking up from the short grass a few feet in front of the Admiral. Luckily they were issue and not private purchase, so he turned in the broken bits and got a replacement. He had survived THAT use of a sword. We reminded them of it frequently.
Taught me to never buy a Stainless steel sword.
After commissioning, I bought a Carbon steel one for myself.
