I remember Samantha. This was the 10 year old girl who wrote a letter to Soviet Leader Yuri Andropov and got a letter back and an invitation to the Soviet Union. She got to meet Andropov and the local population. Put a face to the people in the Soviet Union. An interesting letter to see how a child of 10 perceives the world and politics. Life should be so simple and in some ways, it comes down to her questions: "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."

I didn't know and am rather sad to hear that she died at 13 in a plane crash.... As the saying goes, the good die young...

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I am currently typing a report on Samantha for my 7th grade Language Arts class, as a Maine Giants unit. We are researching people from Maine who made a difference in the world. I am truly honored to learn about such an awesome and smart girl! She is an inspiration to all. Please, read my report and tell me how I did. Thank you.

Very well done, Kimmi! How did you do the research?

Wussup ya'll???

I would love to find / create a new childrens book about samantha smith. I teach eighth grade and would like to know where to find research on her life.

Though I am 45 years old now, whenever someone asks me who my heroes are, I always start out by saying the name of little Samantha Smith. I do this because my memory of her is still clear unto this day. Her sudden appearance upon the scene was in my humble opinion a gift from God. At the age of ten, she epitomized everything that one should hope to be. Her solitary mission of truth and peace galvanized the world and I bore witness to that. Strange that this should all come from someone so very very young, while adults contemplated wars and further nuclear buildup. Well, her tragic passing was a sad day indeed, and I remember that loss very well too. Her young smiling face has never been removed from my memory because her spirit was deeply etched upon my heart. As time has gone by, one seldom if ever even hears her name mentioned. For it would appear that she has been forgotten to a degree. But she is never forgotten by me. Therefore, before I ever pronounce the names of Dr. Martin Luther King, or Abraham Lincoln, or George Washington, or Franklin Delano Roosevelt, or Mahatama Ghanda, or Lady Diana Spencer, or Harriet Tubman, or Sorjourner Truth or Medgar Evers, as being my heroes, I alwasy start with the name of little Samantha Smith. For she was before her time, but her life and her love of truth and peace, and her courage to pursue those ideals is imbeded upon the consciousness of every man, woman, and child, even if they don't even know or cannot recall her precious name. So, in the name of that dear wonder of a child, I mention her name even now, and hope that somehow God in his heaven will hold her close to his bosom because she was surely one of his best works and truly one of his own.

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