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Post by Gene on Jun 6, 2012 16:21:39 GMT 9
Silver Star for Francis Gary Powers: On June 15, 2012, more than 50 years after downed U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers returned from Soviet captivity, the Air Force will posthumously award him a Silver Star medal for his heroism. Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz will present the decoration to grandchildren of Powers during a ceremony in the Pentagon, said service officials June 5. Schwartz will honor Powers for demonstrating "exceptional loyalty" while enduring harsh interrogation in Lubyanka prison in Moscow during his 21 months of confinement that began on May 1, 1960. On that day, a Russian SA-2 surface-to-air missile shot down Powers' U-2 airplane during a top-secret CIA-run reconnaissance mission over the Soviet Union. His shootdown and capture was one of the Cold War's most memorable incidents. It heightened tension between the two superpowers and delivered Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev a propaganda coup. Despite faithfully serving his country and helping to gather invaluable intelligence on Soviet bomber and ICBM forces during numerous U-2 flights over Soviet territory prior to his shootdown, the nation never treated Powers as a hero until after his death. He died in August 1977 at age 47. Click here to continue on to the full article  |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 7, 2012 3:53:38 GMT 9
If memory serves correctly, he died in a helicopter crash. He was the pilot and traffic reporter for an LA Television station for some years. He might have clipped a power line or something like that and was killed on impact.
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Post by Gene on Jun 7, 2012 6:28:19 GMT 9
nothing wrong with the little gray cells there Ron...  |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 7, 2012 6:54:26 GMT 9
that was actually my first stay in so cal. moved there in 76, moved out in 81, came back in 83, then left again in 86.
lived up the road from Ricky Nelson at the time he was killed in a plane crash.
thank God I havent lost the mind YET
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Post by Gene on Jun 7, 2012 8:49:46 GMT 9
think of how many people we know (famous) that has gone out that way... starting with audy murphy... |
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Post by jimstarling on Aug 28, 2012 9:24:28 GMT 9
... John Denver ...
.... the Lynard Skynerd crash, '77 ...
.... Reba McIntyre's band crash (she wasn't onboard) ...
.... Cheryl Tiegs helo crash (she survived) ...
... John F. Kennedy, Jr. ...
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Post by Jeff Shannon on Aug 30, 2012 7:40:17 GMT 9
---Richie Valens
---The Big Bopper
---Stevie Ray Vaughn
---Dean Martin Jr.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2012 8:20:38 GMT 9
---Richie Valens ---The Big Bopper ---Stevie Ray Vaughn ---Dean Martin Jr. dont forget Buddy Holly in the same crash as Richie Valens and Bopper (J P RICHARDS).. aka THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED, " BYE BYE MISS AMERICAN PIE" |
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Post by Gene on Aug 30, 2012 8:40:16 GMT 9
i was just going there... :idea |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2012 8:45:14 GMT 9
SYMPATICO?? :rofl
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Post by Mark O on Aug 30, 2012 10:12:39 GMT 9
Not to belittle, or make less of his death, but he flew his RF-4 into a mountain killing his WSO -- Lt. Col. Ramon "Ray" Ortiz -- as well. I was told -- over a few beers at "Sally's Alley", the beer joint (not the club) on March ARB, CA -- that the young Captain Martin was not the sharpest tack in the box to begin with. This is from some old-timer's that were in the CA ANG unit with him. I'll just leave it at that... GBU, guys. Look over my right shoulder in this December, 2005 photo and you can see the pics on the wall of Dean and Ray. "Grizzly 72" was their call sign.   |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2012 10:26:45 GMT 9
they weren't saying much about the accident. Dean Martin was deeply affected, and almost catatonic. Naturally all his "rat pack" friends went to be with him, and Frank Sinatra supposedly called in a lot of markers to keep the situation out of the press. whatever it was, it worked.
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Post by Gene on Aug 30, 2012 10:44:20 GMT 9
how about will rogers and wiley post?? ole wiley was a history of aviation unto himself... and poor old ricky nelson...  |
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Post by Jim Scanlon (deceased) on Aug 30, 2012 11:44:40 GMT 9
Amelia Earhart
Patsy Cline
Payne Stewart
John Denver
Carol Lombard
Glenn Miller
Leslie Howard - a civilian air liner shot down by a German fighther
Jim Reeves
Several of the Blackwood Brothers
Ricky Hendric
Davey Allison
Alan Kulwicki
Jim Croce
Joseph Kennedy, Jr.
Thurman Munson
Rocky Marciano
and lots of others.
I was stationed at Sioux City "The Day the Music Died", and had been to a dance with Ray Anthony and his band that same night.
His wife, Mamie Van Doren was also there. She "sang".
I'm not a rock fan, never have been.
However it was quite a shock to have those three young entertainers killed because they were in a hurry and took a chance that didn't work out.
Jim Too
:god_bless_usa
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Post by Gene on Aug 30, 2012 12:00:53 GMT 9
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Post by lugnuts55 on Sept 5, 2012 0:02:40 GMT 9
If we're talking celebrities being killed in air crashes, let's not forget the "Ace of Aces", Major Richard Bong. Credited with 40 enemy kills. There may have been more but these are the ones that are confirmed. He also earned the Medal of Honor. He was killed on take-off while test flying a P-80. I guess he forgot to flip a switch for take-off and landing. Jet aircraft were brand new beasts that had to be tamed. He was killed in August, 1945.
This is not meant to diminish the work of Gary Powers. These guys seemed to stand tall in the face of adversity and then they are taken by a simple mistake.
By the way, Jim Too, I used to work with Alan Kulwicki's cousin.
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Post by Diamondback on Sept 5, 2012 7:18:13 GMT 9
Just reinforces the point... it's dangerous up there. (Though my personal opinion is, less so than down here, it's really all about choosing your risks between a buttload of relatively probable things that'll only be nuisances or cripple vs a handful of Certain Killers.)
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Post by jimstarling on Sept 6, 2012 1:50:00 GMT 9
Joseph McConnell -- Korean War ace crashed while testing the F-100
don't know how I missed this post- it was an F-86H I was at George at the time
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Post by Gene on Sept 6, 2012 1:56:24 GMT 9
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Post by lugnuts55 on Sept 6, 2012 3:04:41 GMT 9
Mark, I forgot to mention that the bar looks like a pretty cool place. "The Right Stuff" is one of the best movies for covering that era and I thought Pancho's bar looked pretty cool. I would love to visit Sally's Alley sometime. Did you say it is on March AB? I don't know what it's called but I know it's a AF Reserve base now. Thanks for bringing this up. I didn't even know about it and I was TDY one time in '88 or "89. I would have certainly gone if I had known. Nice picture, too.
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