News>Cold War U-2 pilot gets posthumous Silver Star
Photos
Francis Gary Powers poses next to a U-2 on June 1, 1959. Powers was posthumously awarded the Silver Star June 15, 2012, at the Pentagon for his loyalty while being held captive by the Soviet Union in the 1960s. (Photo courtesy/The Cold War Museum, U.S. Air Force graphic/Robin Meredith)
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz presents the Silver Star, posthumously awarded to Capt. Francis Gary Powers, to the captain’s grandchildren, Francis Gary “Trey” Powers III and Lindsey Barry, on June 15, 2012, in the Pentagon. Captain Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union on May 1, 1960, and received the decoration for the heroism he displayed while held prisoner by the Soviets. He was released in 1962 but subsequently died in a 1977 helicopter crash. (U.S. Air Force photo/Scott M. Ash)
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz and his wife Suzie congratulate family members of Capt. Francis Gary Powers following his posthumous presentation of the Silver Star on June 15, 2012, in the Pentagon. Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union on May 1, 1960, and received the decoration for the heroism he displayed while held prisoner by the Soviets. He was released in 1962 but subsequently died in a 1977 helicopter crash. (U.S. Air Force photo/Scott M. Ash)
(From right) Suzie Schwartz, wife of Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz, and family members of Capt. Francis Gary Powers stand for the National Anthem during the posthumous presentation of the captain’s Silver Star on June 15, 2012, in the Pentagon. Captain Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union on May 1, 1960, and received the decoration for the heroism he displayed while held prisoner by the Soviets. He was released in 1962 but subsequently died in a 1977 helicopter crash. (U.S. Air Force photo/Scott M. Ash)
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz celebrates with Gary Powers Jr. and Dee Powers, children of Capt. Francis Gary Powers, after Schwartz presented the captain’s posthumous Silver Star to the family on June 15, 2012, in the Pentagon. Captain Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union on May 1, 1960, and received the decoration for the heroism he displayed while held prisoner by the Soviets. He was released in 1962 but subsequently died in a 1977 helicopter crash. (U.S. Air Force photo/Scott M. Ash)
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz presents the Silver Star, posthumously awarded to Capt. Francis Gary Powers, to the captain’s grandchildren, Francis Gary “Trey” Powers III and Lindsey Barry, on June 15, 2012, in the Pentagon. Captain Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union on May 1, 1960, and received the decoration for the heroism he displayed while held prisoner by the Soviets. He was released in 1962 but subsequently died in a 1977 helicopter crash. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Christina Brownlow)
Francis Gary Powers (right) talks to U-2 designer Kelly Johnson in 1966. Powers was an Air Force fighter pilot recruited by the CIA in 1956 to fly civilian U-2 missions deep into Russia. Powers and other Air Force Reserve pilots resigned their commissions to become civilians. (U.S. Air Force photo)
(From left) Francis Gary Powers poses with his son Gary Jr., daughter Dee and wife Sue in 1970. Gary Jr. and Dee accepted the Silver Star medal on behalf of their father from Air Force Chief of Staff Norton Schwartz in a ceremony June 15, 2012, at the Pentagon. (Photo courtesy/The Cold War Museum)
by Tech. Sgt. Richard A. Williams Jr.
Air Force Public Affairs Agency
6/16/2012 - WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- More than 50 years after his U-2 aircraft was shot down over the former Soviet Union, Capt. Francis Gary Powers posthumously received one of the military's highest decorations during a ceremony here at the Pentagon June 15.
Powers, who died in a helicopter crash in 1977, was awarded the Silver Star for heroism displayed while being held as a captive by the Soviets from May 1960 to February 1962. Although interrogated and harassed by Soviet Secret Police teams, he refused all attempts to give sensitive information or be exploited for propaganda purposes.
During the ceremony, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz presented the Silver Star to Powers' grandson, Francis Gary Powers III, and granddaughter Lindsey Berry before more than 100 family members, friends, service members and other well-wishers.
Established on July 19, 1932, the Silver Star is the third highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a military member, for valor in the face of an enemy and extraordinary heroism.
Before presenting the decoration, Schwartz spoke of Powers' heroic actions during the Cold War, a period of political and military tension between the United States and the Soviet Union that began in the late 1940s and ended with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
"At the height of the Cold War, the nation called on extraordinary men like Captain Powers to undertake the most sensitive and dangerous missions," Schwartz said. "Captain Powers earned this Silver Star."
Powers enlisted in the Air Force in 1950 and trained as a photographer. He then entered a commissioning program to fly F-84 Thunderjet fighters in 1952.
In 1955, Powers joined the Joint U.S. Air Force-Central Intelligence Agency U-2 Reconnaissance Squadron. He flew his first intelligence gathering mission over the Soviet Union in 1956.
During an intelligence-gathering mission over the Soviet Union on May 1, 1960, the Soviets fired 14 SA-2 surface-to-air missiles at his U-2. Though none hit Powers' aircraft directly, one of the missiles -- at the extreme limit of its range and radar tracking ability -- exploded behind the U-2, and the shock damaged the aircraft.
Powers bailed out of his stricken U-2 near Sverdlovsk and Plesetsk, and soon found himself in a Moscow prison where he was interrogated for 107 days and eventually spent 21 months.
"When I was growing up in Southern California, I knew that Dad had been shot down over the Soviet Union, imprisoned by the KGB and ultimately exchanged for a Soviet spy," his son, Francis Gary Powers Jr., said at the ceremony. "But as a kid growing up in this family, I thought everybody's dad had done this."
After hearing different stories about what happened to his father in the Soviet Union, Powers' son said he began doing his own research. His quest for the truth became easier when official information on the incident was declassified in 1998.
Thanks to this new information, which highlighted Powers' loyalty and heroism while being held as a prisoner, he was posthumously awarded the Prisoner of War Medal in May 2000. Powers has also been recognized for his actions by the CIA director and the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Schwartz said he was extremely honored to add the Silver Star to Powers' other recognition and express on behalf of all Airmen, past and present, the Air Force's gratitude to Powers and his family.
"We are very honored and humbled to be receiving this award on behalf of my dad," Powers' son said. "It is a very warm feeling to know that after 50 years, the record is being set straight, and Dad is being thanked for his accomplishments, his duty and his service to the country."
Comments
6/28/2012 1:11:41 PM ET 52 years later, but yeah why so late. Give it to the guy while he's living. I wish the article would highlight acheivements for the silver star. Do all pilots that are POWs get silvers stars if they resist and keep TS info safe?
Sparky, VAFB
6/26/2012 11:24:11 AM ET Amen
Scott Vaughn, Eglin
6/22/2012 1:36:52 PM ET 60 years later? While I can understand the sensitive nature of Mr Powers' actions and the circumstances, the ability exists to recognize someone without including all of the details in the citation. And leadership gets upset with us for being a few days late on someone's PCS - breathing - decoration.
