Jonas Pleškys

Jonas Plaskus or Jonas Pleškys (March 10, 1935 – April 14, 1993) was a Soviet Navy submarine tender captain born in Giliogiris, Lithuania and died in Oakland, California, United States.[1][2]

Jonas Pleškys
Born(1935-03-10)March 10, 1935
Giliogiris, Lithuania
DiedApril 14, 1993(1993-04-14) (aged 58)
Oakland, California, USA
OccupationSoviet Navy submarine tender captain
programmer/analyst
Known forOne of the inspirations for Tom Clancy's book The Hunt for Red October

Early life

Pleškys was born on 10 March 1935 in Tverai in Žemaitija in western Lithuania. In 1948 his parents were deported to Siberia because of their connections to the partisans. He has three adult brothers and sisters that were able to escape the ethnic cleansing. At age 15 he was expelled from school for anti-Soviet activities.[3]

In 1961, he sailed his vessel from Klaipėda to Gotland in Sweden, although his planned destination was Tallinn. His vessel arrived in Sweden on 7 April 1961.[4] The Soviet authorities sentenced him in his absence to death by firing squad, but the CIA hid him, first in Guatemala and later in the United States. The tender was returned to Soviet custody.[5]

This incident was one of two that inspired Tom Clancy in his writing of The Hunt for Red October.[6] The other was the 1975 mutiny aboard the Soviet frigate Storozhevoy.

Plaskus was relocated to Seattle, Washington, where he attended the University of Washington and initially lived with the family of Julian Jenner to improve his English. Later, he worked as a programmer/analyst in Silicon Valley in the 1970s. In 1979, he accepted a job in Caracas. He revisited Lithuania briefly in 1992.[5]

He was a brother of actress Eugenija Pleškytė.[6]

See also
  • List of Eastern Bloc defectors

References
  1. "California Death Index". RootsWeb. Archived from the original on 2008-01-18. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
  2. draugas. "the Man From 'Red October': Jonas Pleškys". DRAUGAS NEWS. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
  3. draugas. "the Man From 'Red October': Jonas Pleškys". DRAUGAS NEWS. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
  4. "Diplomat övertog befälet på ryska avhopparfartyget". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 8 April 1961. p. 3.
  5. "Homo Lituanus". Lithuania in the World. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
  6. Boyle, Marion (2005). Search For Freedom: The Man From Red October. Klaipėda: Eglės leidykla. ISBN 9955-542-21-7.


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