Boats

Passengers on the Linda in Miami with Estonian General Consul Ernst Jaakson in center, wearing a tie. Jaakson’s diplomatic career began in independent Estonia. He continued to represent the diplomatic interests of his homeland throughout the long Soviet occupation, becoming Estonia’s ambassador to the United States after independence was regained in 1991.

LINDA

The Linda, under the command of Captain Valter Rull, reached Miami on September 20, 1946, with 18 Estonian refugees on board following a journey of 83 days. One man had broken his back during a storm in the Bay of Biscay but was “feeling all right” when he reached Miami, according to a report in the New York Times. 

Known crew and passengers:

  • Captain Valter Rull
  • Mikhael Koddu
  • Karin Pärna
  • Jaan Tamm
  • Voldemar Talts 
  • Brothers Osvald, Alfred, and Ernst Liin, Osvald’s wife, Linda Ehrlich-Liin, and Ella Keidong-Liin
  • Heinard Henning
  • Jaan Tamm
  • Jaan Villo
  • Helmar Rooding and Maria
  • Teo Suster and Esther Karask-Suster
  • Aleks Haakman
  • Otto Ellik

Thank you note from the passengers of the three boats for a financial donation from a supporter.

The refugees’ reception in America 

None of the Inanda, Brill, and Linda’s passengers had U.S. visas, but they were not immediately deported because the immigration officials decided the battered vessels were unseaworthy. Because the boats had arrived close together, the authorities treated the 48 Estonians as a single group. With the help of a local Catholic priest named Leuffner, the refugees wrote many petitions, including to President Harry S. Truman. 

After newspapers reported on the long boat journeys, public support for the refugees grew. On October 25, 1946, the New York Times published an editorial, calling for America to admit “these sturdy, resourceful people who have braved stormy ocean voyages in small boats because they dreamed of America as a safe and friendly haven where man is free.”

In December 1946, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the refugees could remain in the United States. To secure U.S. visas, they were required to travel to the Bahamas the following April to obtain official documents that would allow them to become naturalized U.S. citizens. 

The refugees produced three leather-bound albums that featured photos of independent Estonia, their escape to Sweden and life as refugees, and their voyage across the Atlantic. The albums were presented to President Truman, King Gustav V of Sweden, and Leuffner, the Catholic priest in Miami. The album in Sweden is preserved at the Royal Bernadotte Library in Stockholm.

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