Coast Guard cutter Vigilant. under the command of Comdr. Ralph Eustis was alongside the Soviet trawler Sovietkaya Litva for a conference on the fishing problems along the Atlantic Coast. Up to that point everything was normal and serene. but then an event occurred which shook the world regarding our policy on refugees. During the conference. a Lithuanian seaman known only as "Simas" hurled himself across the open water onto the deck of the Vigilant asking political asylum. but after an interval of several hours the Russians were told to come and get the man. The seamen were permitted to board an American vessel. in American waters. to forceably return a badly beaten and bloodied man to the ship from which he tried to escape In order to obtain freedom.
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refugees