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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.
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