About a dozen tickets are still available for a presentation by Francis Gary Powers Jr. at the Wings of the North Air Museum, located at Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie, at 7 p.m. Monday, July 29, where he will discuss the Cold War and his father’s capture.
CIA pilot Francis Gary Powers Sr. was on a secret mission to photograph Soviet military installations when his U-2 spy plane was shot down by a missile over the Soviet Union in May 1960. Captured by the KGB, Powers faced a globally televised trial and was imprisoned before being exchanged for Soviet spy Rudolf Abel in 1962.
Powers Jr., an author and consultant for the Steven Spielberg film “Bridge of Spies,” will provide insights into the Cold War and his father’s ordeal. Despite misinformation about the incident, Powers Sr. was posthumously awarded the POW Medal, the CIA Director’s Medal, and the Silver Star.
Tickets are $20 and must be purchased in advance through the museum’s website. Attendance is limited to 50 people. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the presentation starts at 7 p.m. The ticket price includes museum admission at 14857 Pioneer Trail. Volunteers will assist with parking. Access is via Gate H, one mile west of Flying Cloud Drive on Pioneer Trail.
For more details, visit the museum’s website.
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