(Note: The Russian Federation or Russia was formerly known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR or Soviet Union], a group of communist states with an area of 22,402,200 square kilometers, the world’s biggest, that existed in 1922 which was officially dissolved on December 26, 1991 after 15 of its republics declared independence. Russia is now considered democratic but repressive acts by the state i.e., those on religious freedom is being criticized by the West.)
HER adorable picture was printed on a Soviet postage stamp in the 80s and was widely circulated in the then Soviet Union. As a result, many would-be mothers in this part of the world wanted to have a daughter like her.
In 1986 a steel statue was erected in her honor in Moscow, and in her hometown near the State Museum in Maine.
"Samantha Smith Alley" in the Artek Young Pioneer Camp in Russia was named after her, so were two elementary schools in the U.S. – in Jamaica Queens, New York City and in Sammanish, Washington.
Asteroid 3147 discovered by Lyudmila Chernykh was named 3147 Samantha.
A yacht in Russia was named after her in 1986.
And in 1985 thousands of Soviets mourned her untimely death.
Who is this young American schoolgirl who elicited love and respect from the Soviet government and people at the height of the Cold War? Why?
In 1986 a steel statue was erected in her honor in Moscow, and in her hometown near the State Museum in Maine.
"Samantha Smith Alley" in the Artek Young Pioneer Camp in Russia was named after her, so were two elementary schools in the U.S. – in Jamaica Queens, New York City and in Sammanish, Washington.
Asteroid 3147 discovered by Lyudmila Chernykh was named 3147 Samantha.
A yacht in Russia was named after her in 1986.
And in 1985 thousands of Soviets mourned her untimely death.
Who is this young American schoolgirl who elicited love and respect from the Soviet government and people at the height of the Cold War? Why?
Samantha Reed Smith (June 29, 1972 – August 25, 1985) was an American pupil from a small town in Houlton, Maine. When she was five, Samantha wrote a letter of admiration to Queen Elizabeth II. She became an instant celebrity during the Cold War period (circa 1950 to 1989) between the U.S. and USSR after writing newly appointed Secretary-General Yuri Andropov. Her letter was published in Pravda. After follow-up at the USSR Embassy, on April 26, 1983, Samantha received a reply (in Russian together with an English translation) from Andropov together with an invitation to visit his country, which she excitedly accepted. Below is the text of Samantha’s letter to Andropov together with his reply.
Dear Mr. Andropov,
My name is Samantha Smith. I am ten years old. Congratulations on your new job. I have been worrying about Russia and the United States getting into a nuclear war. Are you going to vote to have a war or not? If you aren't please tell me how you are going to help to not have a war. This question you do not have to answer, but I would like to know why you want to conquer the world or at least our country. God made the world for us to live together in peace and not to fight.
Sincerely,
Samantha Smith
Dear Samantha,
I received your letter, which is like many others that have reached me recently from your country and from other countries around the world.
It seems to me – I can tell by your letter – that you are a courageous and honest girl, resembling Becky, the friend of Tom Sawyer in the famous book of your compatriot Mark Twain. This book is well known and loved in our country by all boys and girls.
You write that you are anxious about whether there will be a nuclear war between our two countries. And you ask are we doing anything so that war will not break out?
Your question is the most important of those that every thinking man can pose. I will reply to you seriously and honestly.
Yes, Samantha, we in the Soviet Union are trying to do everything so that there will not be war on Earth. This is what every Soviet man wants. This is what the great founder of our state, Vladimir Lenin, taught us.
Soviet people well know what a terrible thing war is. Forty-two years ago, Nazi Germany, which strove for supremacy over the whole world, attacked our country, burned and destroyed many thousands of our towns and villages, killed millions of Soviet men, women and children.
In that war, which ended with our victory, we were in alliance with the United States: together we fought for the liberation of many people from the Nazi invaders. I hope that you know about this from your history lessons in school. And today we want very much to live in peace, to trade and cooperate with all our neighbors on this earth—with those far away and those nearby. And certainly with such a great country as the United States of America.
In America and in our country there are nuclear weapons—terrible weapons that can kill millions of people in an instant. But we do not want them to be ever used. That's precisely why the Soviet Union solemnly declared throughout the entire world that never—never—will it use nuclear weapons first against any country. In general we propose to discontinue further production of them and to proceed to the abolition of all the stockpiles on Earth.
It seems to me that this is a sufficient answer to your second question: 'Why do you want to wage war against the whole world or at least the United States?' We want nothing of the kind. No one in our country–neither workers, peasants, writers nor doctors, neither grown-ups nor children, nor members of the government–want either a big or 'little' war.
We want peace—there is something that we are occupied with: growing wheat, building and inventing, writing books and flying into space. We want peace for ourselves and for all peoples of the planet. For our children and for you, Samantha.
I invite you, if your parents will let you, to come to our country, the best time being this summer. You will find out about our country, meet with your contemporaries, visit an international children's camp – Artek – on the sea. And see for yourself: in the Soviet Union, everyone is for peace and friendship among peoples.
Thank you for your letter. I wish you all the best in your young life.
Y. Andropov
On July 7, 1983, Samantha together with her parents - Jane Reed and Arthur Smith - flew to USSR where she visited Moscow, Leningrad and Artek - the main Soviet children’s camp in Gurzuf, Crimean Peninsula. During the two-week stay, Samantha politely declined the offer of staying in an accommodation for state guests, rather, she opted to stay at Artek with students. Here, she developed friendship with Soviet children including Natasha Kashirina, who speaks fluent English. Though she was not able to personally meet Andropov (who was reported to be seriously ill), Samantha was able to talk with him over the phone. She had also a chance to talk on the phone with Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman on space.
One July 22, 1983, the people of Maine showered Samantha with roses and cheers. A red carpet welcome and limousine were provided. She was declared later as “America’s Youngest Peace Ambassador,” and she became more popular each day. However a number of critics accused her of unknowingly working as a ‘Soviet propagandist,’ to the detriment of her people.
In December 1983, she accepted an invitation from Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone to visit his country and to attend the Kobe Children's International Symposium. In her speech here, Smith suggested that an exchange program between Soviet and American granddaughters be held for two weeks every year, contending that a leader "wouldn't want to send a bomb to a country his granddaughter would be visiting."
Smith’s visit to the Soviet Union opened the door for future exchanges of child ambassadors of goodwill. Later, Katya Lycheva, an 11-year-old Soviet girl visited the United States.
In 1985, Smith wrote Journey to the Soviet Union a narrative on her two-week journey. On the cover was her picture at Artek, her most memorable part of the trip.
Samantha’s role as the "Youngest Ambassador of Goodwill" was cut short by hear death on August 25, 1985 at about 10:00 p.m. due to a plane crash. She was onboard a Beechcraft 99 on a Bar Harbor Airlines Flight 1808 which was about to land at Auburn Regional Airport in Maine, but the plane violently hit a number of trees and crashed, killing eight people – six passengers including Samantha’s father and two crew.
When the news reached Moscow, much speculation on the cause of the accident pointed to foul play. Later an official investigation report stated that there was no foul play and blamed the pilot for the mishap. The report added, "The relatively steep flight path angle and the attitude (the orientation of the aircraft relative to the horizon, direction of motion etc.) and speed of the airplane at ground impact precluded the occupants from surviving the accident." The report stressed that the pilots were inexperienced, it was a rainy night, and the ground radar failure occurred.
Samantha’s early demise was mourned by people who knew her in the Soviet Union and Maine. Moscow eulogized her as a ‘champion of peace.’ At her interment, a personal message of condolence from Mikhail Gorvachev was read by Vladimir Kulagin of the Soviet Embassy.
"Everyone in the Soviet Union who has known Samantha Smith will forever remember the image of the American girl who, like millions of Soviet young men and women, dreamt about peace, and about friendship between the peoples of the United States and the Soviet Union."
The American government did not send any official letter of condolence during the interment.
But later, her mother received one from President Ronald Reagan.
The remains of the "Youngest Ambassador of Goodwill" and her father were cremated and buried
at Estabrook Cemetery near Houlton where she was born.
Until this day, these questions from people who admire and love Samantha remain unanswered:
1) Was there a powerful unseen hand responsible for her death?
2) Knowing how strict the aviation regulations in the U.S. are, is it the policy of the Civil Aeronautics Administration to
authorize ‘inexperienced pilots’ to fly a chartered plane especially at night?
3) When was the ground radar started to fail? Was it on the day of Samantha’s flight?
4) After the radar failed, why did the control tower crew fail to guide the pilot through radio
using GPS or other instruments? Or why did they not instruct Flight 1808 pilot to use
the nearest airport hours before reaching Auburn Airport?
If no one was critical on Smith’s role as peace ambassador, the above questions might not have been asked.
References: Armento, B.J., Nash, G.B. et. al., A MORE PERFECT UNION, Houghton Muffin Co., Houston, Texas, 1994
www.samanthasmith.info, wikipedia
Images: www.samanthasmith.info
But later, her mother received one from President Ronald Reagan.
The remains of the "Youngest Ambassador of Goodwill" and her father were cremated and buried
at Estabrook Cemetery near Houlton where she was born.
Until this day, these questions from people who admire and love Samantha remain unanswered:
1) Was there a powerful unseen hand responsible for her death?
2) Knowing how strict the aviation regulations in the U.S. are, is it the policy of the Civil Aeronautics Administration to
authorize ‘inexperienced pilots’ to fly a chartered plane especially at night?
3) When was the ground radar started to fail? Was it on the day of Samantha’s flight?
4) After the radar failed, why did the control tower crew fail to guide the pilot through radio
using GPS or other instruments? Or why did they not instruct Flight 1808 pilot to use
the nearest airport hours before reaching Auburn Airport?
If no one was critical on Smith’s role as peace ambassador, the above questions might not have been asked.
References: Armento, B.J., Nash, G.B. et. al., A MORE PERFECT UNION, Houghton Muffin Co., Houston, Texas, 1994
www.samanthasmith.info, wikipedia
Images: www.samanthasmith.info