Establishing Precedent

When the Soviet Union overran and annexed Latvia in 1940, the U.S. Vice Consul in Riga was concerned that the American Red cross supplies in that city would be looted. To guard against it he requested permission from the State Department in Washington, D.C. to place an American flag above the Red Cross to deter anyone from taking the supplies. “No precedent exists for such action,” the Secretary of State’s Office cabled back. When the Vice Consul received the message he climbed up and personally nailed the American flag to the pole, then he cabled the State Department: “As of this date, I have established precedent.”