In 1972, I received a call from the Head of the Research Department of a major agricultural cooperative. He was leading a delegation of farmers and agricultural business representatives to the Soviet Union. It was a People to People tour that was started by President Eisenhower to stimulate better relations between the former U.S.S.R., now the Soviet Union, and the United States. People in this country met with their counterparts overseas.

This was not your typical tourist trip. We were in a country where former Soviet President Kruschev, pounding his shoe on a table, on live television, said to the people of the United States, "We will bury you!"

The Soviet Union is a vast country. The United States, Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Japan could easily fit within its borders with room to spare.

The people of the Soviet Union are as diverse as the country, with over 100 nationalities. Its resources are enormous.

Before entering the Soviet Union we were briefed by our Department of State on the dos and don'ts when traveling within the country. We were told that every American who travels in the Soviet Union is subject to Soviet laws, regulations and restrictions. These laws are often very different from our own and are strictly enforced. Persons violating Soviet law, even unknowingly, run serious risk of arrest, trial, fine, and even imprisonment. Knowing this and hearing about all the stories about the Soviet Union over the years gave me a sick sensation in my stomach. Did I make a mistake in going on this trip? No. It was well worth it.

A tour inside the Kremlin in Moscow will not soon be forgotten. The Kremlin is the embodiment of Russian culture. The Kremlin walls enclose towers, cathedrals, palaces and government buildings, erected from the fifteenth to nineteenth centuries. It is a concentration of Russian art, architecture and history.

If there is any message that I can pass on to you, it is appreciate the freedom you have. It's priceless.