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:p Page 2 ? September 21 1984 Dateline THE GAMECOCK Freed seamen after T-shirts; captured by Soviet warship Associated Press iiAiViiiKr.lv I,, Alaska ? nve tired but smiling American sailors said they were glad to be back on American soil today after a week in Siberia, where they were taken by a Soviet warship that seized their supply ship during a souvenir-hunting jaunt. The seamen, released Wednesday in a rendezvous between an armed Soviet icebreaker and a Coast Guard cutter in the Bering Sea, were not harmed during their detention, said Tabb Thorns, skipper of the 120-foot Frieda K. u:.r. u.. u:~ tu^ ^ ~ u ~r vvuii ins new uy nii muc, 1 iiuiur> spunt iu <x iiiuu ui reporters and villagers Wednesday night after the freed vessel beached on Gambrell, located on St. Lawrence Island about 50 miles east of the rendezvous site where the vessel and crew were freed earlier in the day. Thorns said he and the crew piloted their ship to the rendezvous, where Coast Guard Capt. Jack Billington met with tnc commander 01 tne Kussian icebreaker Aisoerg in the wheelhouse of the Frieda K to sign documents turning over the crew and vessel to the Americans. The transfer took place in the Bering Sea near the international date line at 3:20 p.m. ADT (7:20 p.m. EDT). Coast Guard officers who boarded the Frieda K were met by tive armed soviet crew members, said cniei fetty Officer Dan Dewell. Thorns said the Soviets confiscated film from cameras, the ship's log and charts from the Frieda K. Thorns said the crew was pressured to sign papers admitting an intentional violation of Soviet territory, but refused to do so. "We collect T-shirts and sweat shirts from where we go, from time to time, and this was our intention" when the encounter with the Soviet warship occurred Sept. 11 in the Bering Strait, said Thorns. The crew, which delivers supplies to remote villages, was heading for a village on Little Diomede, an Alaskan island only 2 Vi miles east of Soviet owned Big Diomede, when the boat was stopped and boarded by "many, many" Soviet soldiers, he said. Thorns, who did most of the talking for his crew, said they were approaching the narrow passage between the |wo islands when he saw a gray ship approaching. He said he steered the Frieda K closer and saw an officer on the bridee. "As we neared the shin...one of the officers on the vessel motioned" and Thorns interpreted that to mean they should tie up to the vessel. "So we threw our lines on and before the wink of eye, you could say, there were many, many soldiers on board, armed with guns, knives and pistols, and they seized my crew." Thorns and other crewmembers said they were happy to dc oacK on /xmerican son ana saia mey were graterui to me Coast Guard crew that came to pick them up. The skipper acknowledged to reporters that he may have strayed into Soviet territory, but said he was not aware of it at the time. "My navigation equipment said I was 15 miles inside U.S. waters, but apparently that was off," he said. Thorns said the Soviets shut down the vessel's radio equipment and detained the crew on deck and him in the wheelhmise. Another shin arrived and tnwed the Frieda K to the Soviet port town or Urelik in Siberia, he said. Before being taken to what appeared to be a barracks at a military installation, the crewmen were told they could take clothes and one other item. "We asked only to take our Bibles." Thorns said. "They refused" to permit it, he said. He said the crew was never harmed, but "they intimidated us. You could say they made fun of us. They w51 nf??/ ! lie cav fliQl up intcnHpH tn cmcc (hp linp whirh ic not the truth." "They wanted us to sign papers. I signed nothing from the time I entered from the time I left. 1 have been taught from my upbringing, don't sign anything unless you understand it, and I don't know Russian." Thorns said he and his crew maintained morale while in captivity by joking among themselves. He and another, crewman were kept separated from the other three crewmen, he said. . frOOOOOCTTOtt The GAMECOCK is the student Q ' /\ newspaper of the University of South j_ jr J Caroline and is published three times . Q \ I ] f a week on Monaays, Wednesdays and ? v. ^ A Fridays during the fall and ipriug \J \ _ \ LV^v semesters and weekly on Wednesdays ^ \ 1\\ 1 n g during both summer sessions, with the U \ V] IV) C I N II II exception of university holidays and ex- \ t fv/1 aminatinn Mrinda. L# \ J! r\ / B Opinion* expressed in the GAME- LV W Vi/ COCK are those of the editors and not kJ those of the University of South Caro- q BUY C The Board of Student Publications ^ __ __ _ and Communications is the publisher of m I if 11/11 the GAMECOCK. The Student Media Department is the parent organization , w A ma of the GAMECOCK. r> Ij/Hl! Change of address forms, subscrip- flOOn CATrTD tion requests and other correspondence \J\JUU 3A1 Hw should be sent to the GAMECOCK, ^ r* ? A 11?: ;#? rmrn. 1/N lina, Columbia. S.C. 29208. Subscription rates are $15.00 for (I) |fS| year, $8.00 per fall or spring semester and $3.00 for both summer sessions. rj Third class postage paid at Columbia, M S.C. The GAMECOCK is a licensed stu- M dent organization of the University of IQI ruririrD i South Carolina and receives funding 1^1 ~ rst UUUI Oi>(ivitv fpPK . Jnl J qQQQOQOQJl J||ffl^P " - * f?| --.^. #WM Invitation to join Margo Wright and Auchey Foggie, members Islamic Jihad claims respo Explosion ro Associated Press BEIRUT, Lebanon ? A van filled with explosives crashed into the U.S. Embassy annex in east Beirut and blew up yesterday severely damaging the six-story building and reportedly killing 23 people and wounding 60, included the U.S. ambassador. The Christian-owned Voice of Lebanon radio said the casualties included people inside the annex compounded and outside, but it did not give a breakdown of the victims' nationalities. U.S. Slate Department spokeswoman Sondra McCarthy said she had received reports that Ambassador Reginald Bartholomew walked out of the compound and was being treated at a hospital for minor injuries. Lebanese military sources said the ambassador had sustained head and chest injuries and was in intensive care. About 90 minutes after the explosion, a man telephoned the Beirut office of the French news agency Agence France-presse to claim responsibility on behalf of Islamic Jihad, or islamic Holy war - the same group that claimed responsibility for the suicide carbomb attack on the former U.S. Embassy in west Beirut on April 18, 1983, that left at least 63 people dead, 17 of th am A mnripinc iiivui rkiiivi ivauo. The wreckage of the vehicle used in the attack lay about five yards from \ i \i fonivns -v>J My Chkken *n Biscuits nvo/iTTtm >** ?* > /me, oisi/Uii, ubi un UAL VALUE FREE WI1 ECOCK TICKET STUB DAY AFTER THE GAME & ALL DAY SU US 1 & 12th Street \ Forest Drive - Next to Park at Elm wood Ft. Jackson Boulevan Two Notch Road - Jus Sumter Hampton (F D EVERY SATURDAY DURING FOOTRAJ oooonn jEstOgBBm i or / ' " i H nl Alriko 1/ onnn Alnho cnrnritw toll/ tn PatriPO R ui mpiia rxappa nipiia ouluiuy, lam iu 1 umoi* u risibility icks U.S. Emba: the main entrance to the annex building, inside the compound. The Dodge or Chevrolet van ap parently exploded only a yard from the annex entrance. One diplomat on the scene said: "Our guards shot at the car and tried to stop it, but it got into the compound and exploded right here" ? pointing to the spot in front of the entrance. The building did not collapse, but there was severe damage to the ground floor, and considerable damage to the other five stories. The embassy recently moved some of its officers and personnel to east Beirut for security reasons. uamage irom snarpnei could be seen 500 yards away from the building. Three bodies were being carried away from the scene. U.S. Marine Guards said there were about 20 wounded. But the military sources repcrted 23 killed and 60 wounded. It was unclear how many were Americans and how many Lebanese. The announcement attributed to Islamic Holy War said yesterday's attack was carried out "to prove we will carry out our previous promise not to allow a single American to remain on Lebanese soil." No member of Islamic Jihad has ever been identified. Lebanese and American officials have said there may not actually be such a group, and that TAILGATII E TI r? Ve?t Columbia ^ ./or C Providence Hospital I t North of Columbia Mall 'almetto Center Complex) LL SEASON, SEPT. 8 NOV.10 f A. 3fcjf '. , ,?MM?- 4Kb A* ?W* lTtF ^u -I* ~ iHIcBr TggjMr Photo by Sohail Khwaja oyd ont he Russell House patio Thursday. ssv in Beirut m the name may be used by many individual attackers or small independent groups. In Washington, State Department spokeswoman McCarthy said: "Apparently a car did approach the em bassy, went through the gate and blew up. . . the embassy annex. There was some severe damage. There are injuries and deaths, but we have no figures now. As of ritiht now. there are no known American deaths. Our security people there are coordinating the evacuation. The lebanese armed forces are assisting." She said the blast occurrred about 11:30 a.m. White house spokesman Larry Speakes said "the President was in formed shortly after the bombing occurred" and added thee still are no details about casualties. "As far as we know there ae no U.S. casualties," he said. Reagan still plans to keep his campaign schedule today in Iowa and Michigan, Speakes said. "There has been no change in trip plans. I think he will travel today." The Voice of Lebanon, which first renorted thf* attnrk caiH th#? rar wnc met by gunfire from guards at the annex building, which is protected by concrete anti-vehicle barriers, and hit a house before reaching the annex building. vflnoflononn oiu u' rnr^iAi IS 11 OTLWIdL M IF.R RISnilTS M EVERY TWENTY-PIECE 13 IICKEN ?UCKET M AMECOCK SOX M Fhe Official *Food |0| kimecock Saturday" Iq| I FamMisChtckrn n Bixutts ^