Russian Bear on the Samantha Reed Smith Memorial - Augusta, ME
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NorStar
N 44° 18.363 W 069° 46.918
19T E 437629 N 4906163
This small bear at the feet of Samantha Reed Smith represents the Russian Bear that symbolized the Soviet Union where she sent a letter to President Yuri Andopov.
Waymark Code: WMPZ3V
Location: Maine, United States
Date Posted: 11/14/2015
Views: 6
In Augusta, by the Maine State Museum, is this statue and memorial for Sarah Reed Smith, who wrote a letter to the President Yuri Andropov of the USSR (represented by a bear at her feet) and became a young Ambassador to the USSR, which is represented by a bear at her feet.
The statue is located near the southwest corner of the museum, visible from the road to the parking lot.
The statue is roughly life-sized, cast in bronze and set on a stone pedestal. The form is of a girl, smiling, her extended hands holding a dove, and a small bear - about a foot tall - at her feet. A plaque at the base states the following:
"Sarah Reed Smith
June 29, 1972 - August 25, 1985
Maine's Young Ambassador of Goodwill"
Nearby is a rock with a plaque on it with the following text:
"In 1982, ten year old Samantha Smith wrote a letter to Yuri Andropov, the leader of the Soviet Union asking, 'Why do you want to go to war with the United States?' Mr. Andropov's reply to that letter, his invitation for Samantha to visit, and her subsequent trip with her parents to the Soviet Union, began a personal dialogue between the peoples of the Soviet Union and the United States that many believe contributed to the thaw in the dangerous Cold War of the late 20th Century.
Samantha's untimely death at age 13 in an airplane accident was mourned by adults and children world wide. Maine is proud of her native daughter and we remember the message she taught us:
One child can play a powerful part in bringing peace to the world."
There is more to this story on history.com. Link: (
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Other source:
Google.com (Bangor Daily News)
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