Today in 1983, the beginning of an unusual and unlikely peace mission: it was a visit to the Soviet Union by a 10 year old from Maine named Samantha Smith.
Smith was born in the 1970s, a period of Cold War history known as detente.
The US and Soviets were actively trying to make the Cold War a lot cooler.
By the time she turned 10, it wasn’t exactly detente anymore.
Smith was reading magazine articles and watching TV news stories that made her worry that the Cold War was going to turn into a world war.
She suggested that her mom write to the USSR’s new leader, Yuri Andropov, to see why the world’s two superpowers couldn’t find a way to get along.
Smith’s mom suggested that the 10 year old write the letter herself, which she did.
She introduced herself, wrote “congratulations on your new job,” and then asked “please tell me how you are going to help to not have a war.”
After her signature, she added, “PS. Please write back.”
Andropov did as he was requested.
He complimented Smith on her thoughtful letter, said he did want to make the world more peaceful, and he invited the youngster to come to his country to spread her message.
Smith accepted the invitation.
While Andropov was too ill at that point to meet her in person, he did talk with her on the phone.
And she met plenty of Soviet citizens during her two week visit.
While some critics said Smith was inadvertently giving the Soviets a chance to act more peaceful than they really were, she insisted her trip was really about a very simple idea: let Americans and Soviets meet and talk and spend time together, and they won’t want to bomb each other.
Smith’s trip became world news.
She showed up on TV shows and wrote a book about her trip to the USSR.
And while she sadly only lived to be 13 because of a plane crash, Samantha Smith is still remembered today for using her voice to speak out for peace and understanding.
That’s especially true in her home state of Maine, where state law designates the first Monday in June as Samantha Smith Day.
In 1973, almost a decade before Samantha Smith’s famous trip to the Soviet Union, none other than David Bowie made the trip.
The singer was trying to avoid flying at the time, so he made his way back from a concert in Japan by taking the Trans-Siberian Express train line.
The Wende Museum in Culver City, California is hosting an exhibit of photos from Bowie’s trip.
Which fits with one of Bowie’s famous quotes, “I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t bore you.”
Samantha Smith, the fifth-grader from Maine who became “America’s Littlest Diplomat” (CBS Sunday Morning)
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Photo by RIA Novosti archive, image #793152 / Yuryi Abramochkin / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikicommons