I know of nothing in recent history that compares with the cowardice of this commanding officer and I refuse to accept his excuses. He is the commanding officer of the Vigilant. and he alone has the full responsibility for the security and safety of that ship and the protection of American interests. It defies credibility to conceive of the brutality of this whole episode: the captain and his crew standing idly by as the Lithuanian refugee is barbarically beaten into complete unconsciousness by Soviet fishermen and then brutally dragged off the American cutter unto the Soviet fishing vessel. What kind of opinion will freedomseeking people all over the world have about America as the great symbol of the land of the free when an officer of the U.S. Coast Guard permits this kind of