Reflections Of A Spy Swap 50 Years Ago

In May 1960, Francis Gary Powers was flying a spy plane when it was shot down over the Ural Mountains. He returned to the United States in 1962 as part of a trade for a Soviet spy. (UPI)

A Spy Swap’s Legacy Persists, 50 Years On -- Washington Post

On a bridge outside Berlin one gloomy morning 50 years ago Friday stood Francis Gary Powers, the pilot of a CIA spy plane that was shot down over the Russian Ural mountains. He had waited 21 months for this moment. He had survived a plane crash, weeks of harsh interrogation and the brutal conditions of a Soviet prison. He was on the threshold of freedom, and his heart was thumping heavily.

On the opposite end of the steel-trussed Glienecke Bridge was Col. Rudolph Abel, the highest-ranking Russian intelligence officer to be caught spying in the United States.

At 8:52 a.m., the two men began walking forward. They passed each other and made eye contact. Neither said a word.

It was a dramatic — and surprisingly peaceful — end to a political crisis at a time of extreme tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union.

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Update #1: Feb. 10, 1962 | U-2 Pilot Francis Gary Powers Released From Soviet Custody -- New York Times
Update #2: Spies like us: 50 yrs since Cold War Swap -- RT

My Comment: 50 years already .... where did the time go? As a child of the Cold War I always feel funny when I read about it from a historical perspective .... to me .... it all feels like yesterday.