The L.B.J. Caper

Nervously, the little band of rescuers stared toward the dark shore from their boat, anchored off the bleak, remote Greek isle of Amorgos. Finally, they spotted the faint beam of a flashlight. By walkie-talkie, they confirmed that their man was ready to be picked up. Two crewmen hopped into a rubber dinghy and paddled to the beach. Twenty minutes later, they were back with a passenger: George Mylonas, 50, Greece's former Under Secretary for Education, who had been exiled to the island 14 months earlier by the military junta as a "threat to public security."

The story had all the elements of a classic suspense tale. Early in September, members of the Greek resistance approached Italian Journalist Mario Scialoja, a reporter for Rome's weekly L'Espresso, and asked his help in rescuing a victim of the Athens regime.

Scialoja, an experienced sailor known to be sympathetic to the resistance, agreed. He rounded up three men and a woman as crew and located a 30-ft. cabin cruiser. Meanwhile, resistance agents contacted Mylonas and alerted him to watch for a group of tourists during his daily lunches at Kyria Aspasia, the only taverna on desolate Amorgos.

Hidden Walkie-Talkie. Scialoja and his band landed on Amorgos in late September, went to the tavern and ordered lunch. Minutes later, Mylonas entered and went straight to his regular table. When he glanced up, he saw a book on Scialoja's table. It was the prearranged recognition signal--a copy of The Tragedy of Lyndon Johnson by Eric Goldman. Mylonas paled. Quickly, he ate his meal and left.

Scialoja and his group talked loudly about their plans to visit the Panayia Khoroviotissa, a monastery which gave them their only excuse for visiting the island. On the route to the monastery, they hid a walkie-talkie for Mylonas and returned to their boat. That night --after the quick trip back to shore in the rubber dinghy--they sailed away with their extra passenger.

When Scialoja, a thin, bearded man, broke the story last week, he said only that Mylonas is "somewhere in Western Europe." He did disclose, however, that the resistance had singled out Mylonas for rescue because he is a good organizer and the resistance today is badly fragmented.

Wave of Arrests. Mylonas was a member of the Center Union Party, a slightly left-of-center grouping that was the major target of the archconservative junta that took power in 1967. Arrested in August 1968, he was exiled to Amor-gos. He suffered from arthritis and circulatory problems, but the junta refused to consider his wife's pleas for his release. On Amorgos, there was little for him to do beyond his twice-daily visits to sign in at the police station.

Now he has something to do. "I certainly didn't get involved in this adventure with you," he told Scialoja, "to come and rest in a Western country. The fight against dictatorship must unite us all. At this moment, all political forces must collaborate for the restoration of democracy in Greece."

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