Gary Powers

Francis Gary Powers (August 17, 1929 - August 1, 1977) was an American military pilot.

He joined the USAF in 1951. After completing his training he was assigned to the 468th Strategic Fighter Squadron at Turner Air Force Base, Georgia as an F-84 Thunderjet pilot. He was assigned to operations in the Korean War, but (according to his son) was recruited by the CIA whilst recovering from an illness. He left the Air Force with the rank of Captain in 1956, to join the CIA U-2 program.

In a U-2 he carried out espionage missions in Soviet Union airspace, systematically tracking the major railroads to find the Baikonur Cosmodrome. In 1960 he was the pilot involved in the U-2 Crisis; after being shot down on 1 May 1960, he was convicted of espionage the Soviet Union and sentenced to 3 years' imprisonment and 7 years of hard labor. However he was released in a prisoner exchange on 10 February 1962.

On his return to the US Powers was criticised for having failed to activate his aircraft's self-destruct charges to destroy classified parts of his aircraft before capture, and even for failing to use his suicide pin or pill. He then worked for Lockheed as a test pilot for seven years. In 1970, Powers co-wrote a book about the incident, called Operation Overflight: A Memoir of the U-2 Incident. He died in a helicopter crash in Los Angeles on August 1, 1977, while working as a radio traffic reporter for KNBC. The crash of his helicopter was apparently caused by a malfunctioning fuel gauge which had been repaired without informing him. Survived by his wife Sue, and two children Dee and Francis Gary Jr., he was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

In 1998, information was declassified revealing that Powers' fateful mission had actually been a joint USAF/CIA operation. In 2000, on the 40th anniversary of Powers being shot down, his family was finally presented with his posthumously awarded Prisoner of War Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross and National Defense Service Medal.