USAT MERRITT 1923 ...
On July 1, 1923, the army transport ship USAT Merritt out of Manila, Philippines, docked at Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay. It carried five hundred and twenty-six Russia "boat people" survivors of some seven thousand who had fled Vladivostok eight months previously as victorious Communist forces advanced on the last out post of resistance to the Bolshevik revolution.
Monday, October 17, 2016
Paul V. Nikonenko
Angel Island immigration officials held and processed the refugees at Fort McDowell, an army installation on the west side of the island. Although great care had been taken to make sure that all were eligible to enter the country under the immigration laws, nineteen were excluded. Those who appealed the order had to wait at the immigration station until final decisions were made in Washington, D.C. Ultimately four were deported back to the Philippines. Among the passengers were fifty families, naval and army officers, engineers, two doctors, and a chaplain. The parents of the creator of this blog, Paul V. (pictured here) and Maria V. Nikonenko, were among the refugees. Most, however, were young men, sailors and farmers. After the dangers and uncertainties of the preceding months, the emigrants had found safety on Angel island. Some of them were to become movers and shakers within the newly emerging Russian community in San Francisco.
Some members of the crew shown on the Gun Boat Farvator one of the many participating ships in Admiral Stark's Siberian flotilla.
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