Francis Gary Powers, the pilot shot down in his U2 spy plane over the Soviet Union in 1960 is to be awarded a Silver Star posthumously after the flight was officially recognised as a joint CIA/USAF mission. The award comes on top of the 50th anniversary of the flight.
Powers went down in Russia on May 1, 1960, during the height of Cold War tensions between the USA and Soviet Union. The loss of the U-2 was one of the most significant incidents in the driving relations between the USA and Soviet Union to new lows. For decades, Washington did not believe Powers' story that he was hit by a Russian surface-to-air missile while on an ultra-secret photo flight from Pakistan to Norway, overflying the Soviets' most sensitive installations. Powers bailed out and was captured by the Russians. He spent two years in prison and was interrogated many times, but apparently never gave up any important information. After his release in exchange for a Russian spy in 1962, Powers was criticized for not hitting the self-destruct button on the aircraft, and then for not taking his own life with the poison-tipped needle he carried.
Although Powers received service medals and top recognition from the CIA, this is the first time he has been cited for gallantry in action. The Silver Star is the third-ranked in this class below the Medal of Honor and Distinguished Service Cross. The Silver Star will be presented by Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz to Powers' grandson and granddaughter at a Pentagon ceremony on June 15
Powers died in 1977 when the news helicopter he was flying in Los Angeles ran out of fuel and crashed. In 1998 declassified documents proved the 1960 flight was a joint CIA-USAF operation, qualifying Powers, a former Air Force captain, who was then officially a civilian contractor, for military honors. He received the DFC, Prisoner of War Medal and National Defense Service Medal in 2000.