Sculpture of Samantha Smith with Peace Dove (2001)
(1972-1985) was born on June 29, 1972 in Houlton, and died in a plane crash on August 15, 1985. At age ten, she wrote a letter to then Soviet Premier Yuri Andropov expressing her concern over the possibilities of nuclear war. Andropov replied that the Soviets did not want war and invited her to visit him.
This highly publicized exchange was front-page news when she traveled to the Soviet Union in July of 1983. Her celebrity gave her a platform to advocate for peace worldwide, including in a trip to Japan in December of 1983.
Samantha and her father were killed in the crash of a Bar Harbor Airlines plane in 1985, reportedly because of errors by the pilot and the air traffic controller.
Former U.S. Senator George Mitchell was quoted by the Maine Sunday Telegram in a retrospective article as saying, “I think her legacy was not just for good relations between the United States and the Soviet Union” but for peace in general.
After her death, the Soviet Union issued a stamp in her honor, named a diamond, a rose and a mountain in her honor.
A childhood friend and classmate at Manchester Elementary School, now deputy director for the Department of Humanitarian Affairs at the Vietnam Veterans of America, reportedly said, “There is no doubt i my mind that the whole experience played a significant role in shaping me and my life.” Sarah Warren recalled that she and other friends recreated Smith’s trip to the Soviet Union as a tribute to her and as a gesture for peace.
In December of 1986 a memorial to Smith was dedicated at the Maine Cultural Building in Augusta. She is posed releasing a dove, a symbol of peace, with a bear cub (representing Russia) at her side.
Additional resources
Bell, Tom. “School friend says Samantha inspired her life’s work.” Maine Sunday Telegram. July 13, 2003. p. 10A.
Huang, Josie. “Remembering Samantha.” Maine Sunday Telegram. July 13, 2003. p. 1A, 10A.
Galicich, Anne. Samantha Smith : A Journey for Peace. Minneapolis, Minn.: Dillon Press, 1987.
Samantha Smith Foundation. www.SamanthaSmith.info A resource for information about Samantha Smith. (accessed June 28, 2013.
Smith, Samantha. Journey to the Soviet Union. Boston. Little, Brown. 1985.
She is gone, but not forgotten!