Mikhail Gorbachev had been the leader of the Soviet Union for just 13 days when he was suddenly faced with an international crisis. On March 24, 1985, a Soviet sentry shot and killed U.S. Army Maj. Arthur D. "Nick" Nicholson Jr. near a tank storage building in Ludwigslust, East Germany. Nicholson was unarmed and in his uniform. His vehicle carried clearly marked plates identifying him as a member of the U.S. Military Liaison Mission, an organization authorized by both governments to operate in