Francy Powers Jr. - Spy Pilot - Francis Gary Powers, the U-2 Incident, and a Controversial Cold War Legacy

On the morning of June 15, 2012, Keith Dunnavant fired up his laptop and, while sipping his first cup of coffee, began scanning the headlines of the New York Times ’ website. One item immediately caught his eye: “Powers, U-2 Pilot Captured by Soviets, Awarded Silver Star.”

As a student of history who had grown up during the Cold War, Dunnavant was familiar with the story of Powers and was aware that the pilot had died many years before.

But it was the posthumous Silver Star that caught his attention.

Why… after so much time?

He smelled a good story.

Dunnavant visited with Francis Gary Powers Jr. and began to understand and appreciate the long journey Gary had taken to learn the truth about his father and, ultimately, to set the record straight, which culminated with the military’s third-highest honor.

The road to this book began formally in 2013.

The authors are grateful for the help of a long list of individuals, starting with Steven L. Mitchell and all the good folks at Prometheus Books for providing a home for this book and believing in it.

We were also blessed by the expert guidance of agents David Black and Jennifer Herrera of the David Black Literary Agency, who took great care in helping us shape the story.

The research included dozens of interviews and contributions from various others who assisted in other ways. They all have our sincere thanks for helping us get the story right.

To flesh out Francis Gary Powers’s formative years in southwest Virginia, we benefited from the generosity of spirit and the keen memories of a long list of folks, especially Joan and Walton Meade, Jack Goff, and Jan Powers Melvin.

To understand Kelly Johnson, the Skunk Works, Area 51, and the U-2, we turned to Tony Bevacqua, Bob Gilliland, Pete Law, Jake Kratt, Robert Gilliland Jr., Harry Andonian, Steve Justice, and Buz Carpenter.

To bring the CIA days to light, we were aided by Joe Murphy, Ken Bradt, Jeannie Popovich Walls, Frank Murray, T. D. Barnes, Jim Herbert, and Steve Betterton.

To illuminate Gary’s story, we leaned on the good memories of his lovely wife, Jennifer, as well as friends Chris Conrad, Joe Patterson, Chris Means, Jon Teperson, and Bob Kallos.

Fortunately for us, Winston Skinner loves history and is devoted to keep it alive in the pages of the Newnan Times-Herald in the suburban Atlanta town of Newnan, Georgia. Through the years, Skinner has written several articles about the marriage of Francis Gary Powers at a little parsonage just a few blocks from his newsroom. He pointed us to Frank’s best man, Johnny Estep. Thanks for all the help, Winston.

We are indebted to Trishia Thompson and her mother, Betty Baugh, who granted us access to Dr. James Baugh’s unpublished manuscript and correspondence concerning the events of 1960–1962 and gave us permission to quote from these historic documents.

Aviation historian Carol Osborne offered several of her video interviews of important figures from the past, including the late Tony LeVier. Thanks, Carol.

Rosa Anne Speranza helped us learn about the important role her parents played in the Powers saga.

In addition to reviewing the journal, letters, and audio tapes Francis Gary Powers left behind, Gary has spent nearly three decades gathering mounds of research concerning his father’s journey, much of it classified until recent years, including the transcript of his CIA debriefing after his release from prison. Several government reports proved extremely helpful, including the NSA’s “The Final Overflights of the Soviet Union, 1959–60,” and the CIA’s “History of the OSA,” “The May Day 1960 Incident,” and “The CIA and the U-2 Program, 1954–1974.” Gary expresses his sincere gratitude to the CIA for all of their help over the years to assist with his research.

Gary would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the many friends and family members who supported his search and helped in various ways through the years: his aunts, uncles, and cousins, as well as his close friends Brandon, Chris, Joe, Jon, Bob, Mike, Randy, Topher, and Jay (RIP).

A long list of people helped Gary work through the federal-government bureaucracy, to find the truth and honor his father, and/or to assist with his efforts. He would especially like to thank Chris Pocock, Pat Halloran, and Buz Carpenter, as well as the following:

Jim Connell for obtaining access to his father’s prison cell at Vladimir, and various other assistance.

Gregg Anderson (RIP) for all his work he did on behalf of the Powers family when Gary’s father passed away in 1977, and for helping with Gary’s first trip to the Soviet Union in May 1990.

Leonov Minin for helping with his visit to Moscow in June 1997.

Svetlana Tumanov for helping him to access to the Hall of Columns.

Anton Vladimirovich, Natalja Pavlovna, and Andrew Guselnikov, who helped Gary to visit U-2 Incident–related sites in Sverdlovsk in December 2017.

Rainer Hunger and Vaclav Vitovec from Vienna, Austria, and Prague, Czech Republic, respectively, who are fellow Cold War historians, collectors, and friends who assisted with travels in Europe over the years.

Doug Campbell for his help with another project concerning Gary’s father.

The Cold War Museum Board of Directors, staff, volunteers, and docents, who helped with the creation of the museum, especially co-founder John Welch.

Dave Baldwin (RIP), Werner Juretzko (RIP), Chris Sturdevant, Baerbel and Horst Simon, Kevin Fleckner, Richard Neault, and Jason Smart, who helped with the creation of The Cold War Museum chapters.

Carol Bessette (RIP) and John Bessette, who helped with the creation of the Spy Tour of Washington, DC.

The extended U-2 community, including Sam Crouse, Tony Day, and Chuck Wilson, who have supported Gary’s efforts to find out the truth over the years.

The CIA for allowing Gary in to photocopy declassified files from the Historical Intelligence Collection, and Linda McCarthy, who helped with the creation of the U-2 Incident exhibit.

Attorneys Mark Zaid and Bradley Moss for their help with filing the FOIA requests, which became an integral part of the book.

All of Gary’s Cal Nu fraternity brothers (1983–1987) who helped him to come out of his shell.

Keith thanks his brothers—Bill, Tom, Ron, and Jim—and various other family members and friends for their support of this project, with a special thanks to his beloved mother, who encouraged it for years but passed away before getting to see it published.

We are sure that we have left off some names of individuals to whom we are indebted for their help and support over the years. We thank you too.

The published record concerning the U-2 Incident and various parts of the story is extensive, and we benefited from a significant amount of outstanding newspaper, magazine, and book journalism, which helped us understand the players, the times, the technology, and the controversy.

Specific quotations are listed in the notes, but several books were especially helpful, including Operation Overflight , by Francis Gary Powers with Curt Gentry; Mayday: Eisenhower, Khrushchev, and the U-2 Affair , by Michael R. Beschloss; Strangers on a Bridge , by James B. Donovan; The Craft of Intelligence , by Allen W. Dulles; The U-2 Spyplane , by Chris Pocock; Kelly: More Than My Share of It All , by Clarence L. “Kelly” Johnson with Maggie Smith; Reflections of a Cold Warrior , by Richard M. Bissell Jr. with Jonathan E. Lewis and Frances T. Pudlo; The Brothers , by Stephen Kinzer; Skunk Works , by Ben Rich and Leo Janos; Eisenhower: Soldier and President , by Stephen E. Ambrose; Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev , vol. 3, edited by Sergei Khrushchev; and The Crisis Years , by Michael R. Beschloss.