The Forsaken: An American Tragedy in Stalin's Russia

by Tim Tzouliadis

It was only later that the trouble started. The paperwork had to be filled out to gain credit for the jump from the world aviation authorities, and in the box marked “nationality” Victor Herman had written “USA.” Officials suddenly appeared from all sides, representing the Communist Party, the Red Army, and the secret police. Questions were asked and arguments raged: “How could an American be allowed to jump from a Soviet plane, flown by a Soviet pilot, onto Soviet soil?” Fortunately a quick-thinking official thought of a cheap solution to their problem. A new set of forms was filled out, and Victor Herman was politely asked to please write “USSR” in the correct box. Full of a sense of his own invincibility, the naïve blue-eyed Detroit teenager picked up a pen, paused for a moment, and then wrote “USA.” And with those three letters young Victor Herman sealed his fate.31