The Nation : A Sea of Smiles Aboard Soviet Warships

Glasnost took on a human face as thousands of U.S. sailors and American citizens boarded three Soviet warships in port at Norfolk Naval Station in Virginia to exchange gifts, smiles and handshakes on the second day of a historic visit by the Soviet ships carrying 1,100 personnel. The vessels will spend five days in Norfolk to foster good will and to familiarize officers on each side with their respective roles. Weapons and military strategy appeared far from the minds of most of the American and Soviet sailors mingling on the guided-missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov. “No professional questions ever came to the surface,” said Lt. Barry Benzing, weapons officer for the U.S. guided-missile cruiser Harry E. Yarnell. “They were always questions about back home and the Soviet Union.”