Designer of His Own Destiny
The military transport ship made a stately entrance into New York Harbor on August 23, 1949, or so it seemed to one young passenger who, along with many other World War II refugees, had traveled more than 4,300 miles across the Atlantic Ocean from Soviet-occupied Lithuania. The ship headed directly to the dock, bypassing Ellis Island by way of a special congressional act. As the young passenger made his way to the exit, the captain plucked him from the crowd, shook his hand, and said, “Young man, you will have a great future in America.”