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    Air Force plans to award Silver Star to U-2 pilot

    By DOUGLAS BIRCH | AP – Fri, Dec 16, 2011

    WASHINGTON (AP) — The Air Force will award a Silver Star posthumously to Francis Gary Powers, the pilot whose spy plane was shot down in 1960 over the Soviet Union in a defining moment of the Cold War.

    The Air Force determined that the U-2 pilot showed "steadfast loyalty" while under harsh interrogation in Soviet prisons. In a report obtained by The Associated Press, it cited his "sustained courage" and gallantry despite "cajolery, trickery, insults and threats of death."

    Powers was swapped for a Soviet spy in February 1962 at Berlin's Glienicke Bridge. He died in the 1977 crash of a traffic helicopter he was flying in Los Angeles.

    His son, Francis Gary Powers Jr., of Midlothian, Va., requested that his father be considered for the medal. He said the Air Force confirmed this week that it plans to award it. "It is vindication of my father 50 years afterwards," he said. "Dad is one of our American heroes."

    In the aftermath of the downing, some people criticized Powers for not committing suicide using a toxin-tipped needle he was given before the flight. His son said the CIA instructed pilots to surrender and to use of the poisoned pin only if they chose to while under torture.

    Pilots were permitted to tell the truth about their missions with the exception of certain specifications of their aircraft.

    "While he admitted he was spying, he did not reveal any vital information to the enemy," said Powers Jr., founder of the Cold War Museum in Vint Hill, Va.

    The decision to award the Silver Star comes just a few weeks before the 20th anniversary of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, on Dec. 25, 1991.

    Powers wasn't honored after his return in 1962 because of the "global political environment," the Air Force report said.

    The U-2 case was detailed in declassified data presented at a 1998 conference, and Powers was awarded a military POW medal and a CIA director's medal posthumously in 2000. The U-2 Soviet overflights were a joint CIA-Air Force program.

    Powers Jr. said he requested his father be considered for the higher military honor a few years ago, citing honors given other captured spy plane pilots. He said no date has been set for the award ceremony.

     

    8 comments

    • GP W
      GP W  •  4 mths ago
      Sadly this recognition is far too late for this hero. Mr. Powers was treated very poorly upon his return to the US - not treated as a hero but having his loyalty and professionalism questioned. He handled his return with great humility and graciousess. Mr. Powers deserved our gratitude and support much earlier on. Those who flew the U2 spy and other missions and those who built the aircraft and those who worked in secrecy for our country during the cold war deserve our gratitude and recognition of their sacrifices. Unfortunately many of their stories are still secret and will remain so for decades.
    • Bob
      Bob  •  Coos Bay, United States  •  5 mths ago
      About time I think. It's 50 years too late but at least he finally gets the recognition he deserved.
    • Tish
      Tish  •  Edison, United States  •  5 mths ago
      Remember the downing well(I was 15). President Eisenhower got caught with his pants down for saying we didn't have any spy planes etc.(we figured it either couldn't be shot down OR if it crashed there would be nothing left to identify).The really good thing to come out of this was the development of the SR-71 Blackbird
    • Andy RR Tex
      Andy RR Tex  •  Red Rock, United States  •  5 mths ago
      Fiinally a real person can get his just reward,saw my first u2 when it landed for emergency landing on black pearl.
      He should have recieved his medal sooner.congrts to his son for persistance.
    • Homunculus
      Homunculus  •  Seattle, United States  •  5 mths ago
      This is good. If not a bit late.
    • phiz
      phiz  •  5 mths ago
      It's about #$%$ time!KNBC por~vida!
    • Brenda M
      Brenda M  •  5 mths ago
      salaam,
      GITMO origins enemy combatants trumped up to Terrorist associates after TORTURE implied
      • chris
        chris 5 mths ago
        try to speak english. no one here speaks gibberish.
    • BEARBOXER
      BEARBOXER  •  Silver City, United States  •  5 mths ago
      Why would a Medal be given to a Pilot that got Shot Down..?? You are NOT supposed to get shot down.. This is the same kind of logic that makes people think that John McCain was a hero for getting shot down in Vietnam... Both Powers & McCain should have been charged with Willful Misconduct for allowing themselves to get shot down...
      • Viktor
        Viktor 5 mths ago
        No one knew the Soviets had such far-reaching anti-aircraft missiles. When Powers was shot down, the truth was revealed about the greatly improved air defenses in the USSR. Much to General Curtis LeMay's chagrin, the truth came out that high-flying bombers would last about as long as the Goodyear blimp in a shooting war. But no matter what, you have to admire Powers' courage to attempt a flight across most of the USSR back in those days and in a hard-to-fly plane like the U2. He had a pair.
      • Daniel
        Daniel 5 mths ago
        Powers was one of our finest pilots at that time, as only a few ever sat in the U2 plane. He deserved the medal and a lot more for his bravery, and conduct as a prisoner. I'd salute him any day, before I'd salute the Pincko we got in the whitehouse.
      • Mark
        Mark 5 mths ago
        It's not that easy a job, Bear. He'd have flown higher, if he could have. I'd say he did OK, and then did his duty under interrogation.
     Post a comment
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