. >>> wayne smith was a young diplomat at the u.s. embassy when it closed in 1961.n late '70s he served at the head of the american intersection in havana. i met with him at the historic hotel national when he reflected on the events of the day. >> it was owonderful moment. i've waited all these years to return. i mean i've been back to cuba many times but to return with normal conditions between the two countries. i had begun to believe it was never going to be in my lifetime. now, wonderfully it's happened. >> when you came here as the head of the intersection, did you think back then that relations would be normalized quickly? >> i was delighted to come back and to become the chief of the intersection under carter. and hoping that i could then help bring about dialogue, discussions, negotiations, and leading to a great improvement in relations perhaps in time to normalization. unfortunately, there were those in the carter administration who didn't want normalization. then came ronald reagan. he was elected. he made it clear he didn't want any normalization. it wa