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MILLIGAN COLLEGE, TN (February 24, 2010) —Francis Gary Powers Jr., son of the renowned U2 pilot shot down over the former Soviet Union 50 years ago, will share his father’s remarkable story at Milligan College on Tuesday, March 2, at 11 a.m. in Seeger Memorial Chapel. The event is free and open to the public.
Powers’ visit to Milligan is one of several international programs planned in 2010 to recognize the 50th anniversary of the U2 plane incident, recognized by historians as one of the most significant events of the Cold War.
A native of southwest Virginia, Francis Gary Powers Sr. graduated from Milligan in 1950. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and was recruited for the U2 program by the CIA in 1956. He achieved international recognition when his U2 spy plane was shot down on May 1, 1960, while conducting a reconnaissance mission over the former Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War.
Powers was held prisoner by the Soviets for 21 months before being exchanged on Feb. 10, 1962, for Soviet spy Col. Rudolf Abel, who was in U.S. captivity.
During his military career, Powers received many awards including the Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross, the Department of Defense Prisoner of War Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, and the CIA’s Intelligence Star and Director’s Medal. He died in 1977 in a helicopter crash in Los Angeles and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
“Mr. Powers is one of Milligan’s most distinguished and recognized alumni,” said Dr. Donald R. Jeanes, president of Milligan. “As his son, Gary, travels the world this year to commemorate the 50th anniversary of this historic mission, we are honored to have him visit Milligan to share his father’s legacy with us.”
Powers’ son, Gary, lectures internationally on the U2 incident, the need to preserve Cold War history and how the Cold War impacts us today. He has arranged for the loan or donation of artifacts and exhibit material to American government agencies and a variety of internationally recognized museums.
In 1996, he founded the Cold War Museum to honor Cold War Veterans and preserve Cold War history. Currently, a mobile exhibit travels internationally, displaying historical artifacts associated with the U2 incident. The traveling exhibit promotes interest in the creation of a permanent Cold War Museum that will exhibit artifacts and memorabilia associated with various Cold War events from the end of World War II to the collapse of the Soviet Union. In conjunction with the Museum, a “Cold War Memorial” will honor the men and women who worked, fought, sacrificed and died during the Cold War from 1945 to 1991.
For more information, visit www.milligan.edu/arts.