Remembering Gary Powers

Jason Caffrey, BBC: Gary Powers: The U2 spy pilot the US did not love

Steven Spielberg's most recent movie, Bridge of Spies, tells the story of a Cold War prisoner exchange between the Soviet Union and the US. The deal allowed US spy plane pilot Gary Powers to return home - but once there he faced a chorus of criticism.

Gary Powers had been in flight for four hours when his troubles began. His spy mission from an American airbase in Pakistan took him over central Russia, where, at more than 70,000 feet above the ground, he believed he was beyond the range of either fighter planes or missiles.

The 30-year-old CIA pilot, a veteran of the Korean war, expected to make his way, without incident, all the way across the Soviet Union to another base in Norway.

But when he was over the Russian city of Sverdlovsk, the unimaginable happened. His U2 spy plane was hit by a Soviet missile barrage.

WNU editor: Those were interesting times.

Honoring U-2 Pilot Gary Powers

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Powers, U-2 Pilot Captured by Soviets, Awarded Silver Star -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — More than 50 years after his plane was downed in the Soviet Union, Francis Gary Powers was posthumously awarded the military’s third-highest decoration on Friday.

Mr. Powers, the U-2 spy plane pilot whose story captured national attention during the cold war, was awarded a Silver Star from the Air Force in a ceremony at the Pentagon.

After his plane was downed in 1960, Mr. Powers was subjected to 107 days of interrogation, followed by a public trial in Moscow. He was imprisoned for more than two years thereafter.

Read more ....

More News On Gary Powers Receiving A Silver Star

U-2 spy plane pilot Francis Gary Powers honored with Silver Star at Pentagon -- CBS
U-2 Pilot Gary Powers Receives Silver Star -- ABC News
Cold War Hero Powers Receives Posthumous Silver Star -- US Department of Defense
50 Years After A Cold War Drama, A Silver Star -- NPR
U-2 Pilot Powers Posthumously Awarded Silver Star -- Military.com
US honours Cold War spy plane pilot -- Al Jazeera
U2 pilot Powers given posthumous Silver Star -- AFP
Silver Star sets the record straight, say children of Francis Gary Powers -- Stars and Stripes

Gary Powers To Get Silver Star

Photo: Gary Powers. Wikipedia/RIA Novosti

Cold War Pilot Francis Gary Powers To Get Silver Star -- CNN

(CNN) -- An American pilot whose U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union will be posthumously awarded the Silver Star next week, 50 years after he was released from prison and returned to the United States.

The award for valor is being bestowed on Francis Gary Powers for exhibiting "exceptional loyalty" during harsh interrogation while in captivity by the Soviet Union for nearly two years, the Air Force said.

The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration awarded to members of any U.S. military branch for valor in the face of the enemy, the Air Force said. The award will be presented to his family Friday during a ceremony at the Pentagon, officials said.

Read more ....

My Comment: Long overdue.

Remembering Gary Powers And The U-2 Incident Over Russia 50 Years Ago Today

Francis Gary Powers with a model of the U-2. (Photo from Wikipedia)

CIA Documents Show US Never Believed Gary Powers Was Shot Down -- Times Online

At 8.52 this morning a normally garrulous American is to observe a moment’s silence outside the Lubyanka, headquarters of what used to be the KGB in central Moscow.

He will be there to honour the good name of his father, Francis Gary Powers, whose reputation has suffered for half a century by association with one of the most enduring mysteries of the Cold War.

Read more ....

More News On The 50th Anniversary Of The Gary Powers U-2 Incident Over Russia

CIA twist in '60s Cold War crash: 50th anniversary of Powers' U-2 flight -- New York Post
Downed U-2 pilot's son on own mission in Russia -- AP
Francis Powers Jr. visits Russia 50 years after his dad was shot down over USSR -- Voice of Russia
Fifty Years Later, Gary Powers and U-2 Spy Plane Incident Remembered -- RIA Novosti
U2 incident gave Nikita Khrushchev no choice but to turn his back on detente -- Times Online