In 1970, just off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, Lithuanian sailor and would-be defector Simas Kudirka jumped off his Soviet vessel aboard a US coast guard cutter, asking for asylum. His leap for freedom set off a chaotic series of events, leading to one of the biggest political muddles during the Cold War.
The Jump
In 1970 Lithuanian sailor Simas Kudirka made a desperate leap for freedom from his Soviet vessel to a US Coast Guard cutter, but the Americans sent him back - inciting one of the Cold War's most complex and suspenseful political blunders.
