Powers Honored

U2 Pilot Highway Marker 

Francis Gary Powers Honored

Highway Marker Honoring U2 Pilot!

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Francis Gary Powers Honored

To read the Francis Gary Powers Highway Marker, Click on the thumbnail images.

 

Highway Marker honoring U2 pilot Gary Powers
Thursday, August 18, 2005 Article By STEPHEN IGO Times-News

 

POUND - Dedication ceremonies for Virginia's newest historical highway marker turned into a family reunion on a small grassy median next to U.S. Route 23 in Pound on Wednesday, all in honor of the late Francis Gary Powers, who spent most of his growing-up years in the town.

Powers soared into international fame in 1960 when his U2 spy plane was shot down over the former Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War. He was held prisoner by the Soviets for nearly two years before being exchanged for Soviet spy Col. Rudolph Abel, who was in U.S. custody. Powers was killed in a helicopter crash in Los Angeles in 1977.
 
Leading the family charge onto the grassy median for Wednesday's dedication ceremonies was Powers' son, Francis Gary Powers Jr., his wife, Jennifer, and their son, 3-year-old Francis Gary Powers III, nicknamed "Trey." Powers' sisters, distant cousins and childhood pals were in abundance as well.
 
"It's great, I think," said Hubert Powers of Coeburn, a distant cousin. "He needed more recognition than they've given him. The last time I saw him was at the Cherokee Cafe here in town. I think that was in '64."
 
Gloria Thacker, who Powers' son credits with getting the ball rolling on the historical marker, said the new highway sign was "long overdue." She was a playmate of one of Powers' sisters, Joyce Stallard. Joyce and sisters Jean Goff and Joan Meade attended.
 
Two other sisters, Janice Melvin of Utah and Jessica Hileman of Maryland, were unable to attend. Powers was the only son of the family, and Joan said all five sisters "raised him right."
 
"It's about time!" declared Stallard about the marker dedicated in honor of her brother, repeating a family theme of the day. "I mean, it's long overdue. He was a hero for our country. And he was always a hero to me."
 
Jack and Jean Goff live on the old family farm on Mill Creek near Pound. Jack read a poem he wrote for Wednesday's ceremonies denoting the life and times of the U2 pilot from boyhood on.
 
"I told myself if Abraham Lincoln was able to write the Gettysburg Address in 12 minutes, I ought to be able to write this poem in 12 days," Jack grinned. "But I wrote it up yesterday morning."
 
Powers Jr. told the crowd that when he was growing up in southern California, he didn't regard his father as being any different than anybody else's dad. He was aware his dad got shot down over Russia "but I thought that was normal for everybody's dad."
 
When Powers Jr. was 12, his father perished in the helicopter crash. He said he was devastated and "didn't come out of my shell" until he was in college, when he began to research his father's history. He learned a lot about the U2 and the Cold War, he said, and years later that has led him to be the founder of the Cold War Museum that is to be built in Lorton, Va.
 
"This was a long time coming," he said. "The family is very honored and glad the state took our suggestion and approved the marker. It was Gloria Thacker's idea. She asked us if it would be OK if she looked into it, and we said, of course, we'd love that."
 
His sister, Dee Rogers of Minneapolis, was unable to attend. But Powers Jr. was proud to say his sister is a 22-year veteran of the Air National Guard. Powers Jr. and his family now live in Midlothian, near Richmond.
 
Mike Police of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources office in Roanoke, said historical markers must be of statewide significance to win state approval. Sponsors of a marker must pay for it themselves, a cost that is currently in excess of $1,300, he said.
 
Jennifer Powers said at just 3, her son Trey is vaguely aware his grandfather "flew a plane" once upon a time.
 
"We've talked about it a little bit with Trey, like when there's something about it on TV," she said. "We're very excited about this. Sometimes we don't feel the recognition is there, and it's nice to see the state put up the historical marker. It means a lot to Gary and the rest of the family."
 
After graduating from Grundy High School, Powers attended Milligan College. Following graduation from Milligan, he entered the U.S. Air Force, where he trained as a combat pilot.
 
In 1956 he was recruited by the CIA to fly U2 reconnaissance missions. The U2 was considered missile-proof because it flew so high and fast, but by 1960 the Soviets proved they perfected their technology to knock their first - and last - U2 spy plane out of the sky, netting the pilot and a Cold War propaganda coup in the process.
 
Kevin Harkey, an assistant to the president of Milligan College, attended the ceremonies because he said the college and alumni are "real proud of Mr. Powers. We're very glad that he is honored in this way, and we're proud of his service to his country. I've been fortunate to have met a lot of his classmates, and they are awful proud of Gary."

 

 

Francis Gary Powers Jr., his wife, Jennifer, and their son Francis Gary Powers III, called 'Trey,' were part of a family reunion of the deceased U2 pilot who was shot down over the former Soviet Union. Francis Gary Powers Jr. is the founder of the Cold War Museum.

Article from the Times News

 

Pound, Virginia 24279

 

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