FRANCIS GARY POWERS - THE UNMAKING OF A HERO, 1960-1965

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 05782119
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 25
• Document Creation Date: March 8, 2023
• Document Release Date: May 22, 2019
• Case Number: F-2018-00872

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Francis Gary Powers - The Unmaking of a Hero,-
1960-1965
Mayday!
Powers, the Man
Was,He an Employee?,
Trial. and Captivity, Aug 1960-Feb 1962
Difficulties in the USA, Atig 1960-Feb 1962
Powers-Abel Exchahge, 10 Feb 1962
The Dull
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is a di iferc.,,h.c.-2
-in .t.fie pul)1 iniacje ,and
sel f of: the central
.figure - in the celebrated
U-2 shoal down.
Francis Gary Powers - The Unmaking of a Hero, 1960-1965.
. James J.Wtnte
MAYO.Ay !
On I May. 1960, somewhere between Peshawar, Pakistan land
Bodo in Norway, Francis Gary Powers 'went missing' while piloting
his U-2 aircraft on an overflight of the Soviet Union. The hazardous
eight flour flight, three thousand miles of which were over Russia, could
never be considered routine but the operation had been conducted
successfully for four years and no unusual difficulties had been
anticipated. Soviet surface to air missilery was improving but was
not yet considered eaPable of reaching the high flying U-2 No change
flight plan was ma-'' b4 reason of th upcoming-. ;mit meeting 01 the
Big Four (U.K., France, !.SSR, US) scheduled for Paris in that menth:
An uneasy. silece followed Powers' disappearance.. DUriaq,
this time he US aut-..ites at Adana Turkey correctly issued a law -key
press release statine ._ at .NACA* weather reconnaissance, plane had
disappeared neat Tur'Key. The item receiVed little 'press attention at
the first but was nof remain quiet for long. On 5 May just b
4rNationaT Advisory Cc-,11ttee on Aeronautics, predecessor to MASA.'.. FoUr -
years of -SUCC23S had' :arjsed the original cover 'plan to galhar -dust in
. both lleldquIrnrsift a but .evidently not in the' fieTd.
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_th Pd s Car Terence convened, 'the...Soiet -announcPd
pho t,pg.raphi c ple had, 'been shot do n ov,er ,territory :On
7. Ray; PreMier- Khru,shchev 'reveal ed �tha t: the �:pi lot, :Francis Gary
:,-Powers was alrive-'and...had cOnfessed to htiin,, DCfl on--- a �sPyi-
also that- they : had -recovered the arcrft.....
No. th-e.-,fat- Was really� the, fire�I;hich.,-..b1 a...zed, up- -1;iorld1
wit'n such :ix:ten-Si-Cy-. that. 'the State ::Department :felt it neceSSaryitO.:
issue a.statement. As a result of an inquiry Ordered by the Presid
the Department said, on .7 Nay, it had been established that -in so far.
as the authorities in Washington were concerned there ,,,raS no authori-
zation for any such flight as ,described by flr Khrushchev. The denial:,
was followed on 9 May by:an admission from Secretary of State,
Christian
� Herter that such flights had existed for several years in order to
_gather information to protect the nest from surprise attack. Herter
asserted that the flights would be continued unless
. ..�
- gression
Soviet tinl'On
ecrAtar, rter statement fiii-the
,
..exacerbate ci the .s-it.--vti , so much so that President E.--1.s nhower on
11 May 1960 admittec
had authorized the flights riding that
they had 1-'..,een oare riot to be renewed/ f those daVs,
.ri;:yrriar.1
acy '
he mc,,s ,, rornei:ozs I i tneSSPC.1-
On 16
�
salL tone of
in government;�
the efs of.State of the Big Four had
gathered in Paris the sL,mmit part of
-.�*41r'kpa-..-crj6k
the Conference, Premier .KbruShchi
e Real CIA, ft,e,,v�York 19
B p. 1.14.
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angrily Con fronted �Presider,t- Eis�enhOwer with the :U-2 affaii
a� prsonal apology.* The Conference broke up amidst charges and
countercharges. President Eisenhower's proposed visit to the Soviet
Union scheduled for June of 1900 was also cancelled by mutual agreement.
The U-2 affair was, according to James B. Donovan, N2',-; York attorney
and leading US Figure in the later Powers-Ab I exchange, 'the Soviet
Union's greatest propaganda triumph since the cold war began'
Powers emerged from the propaganda mauling given to the
United States with his reputat,on badly damaged, became ifl fact an object
of scorn and derision in the US press which painted him as a sorry figure
of an American. Public opinion in the early sixties was inclined to be
severe in its judgements of American prisoners of the Communists and
Powers was no exception. Was he unjustly maligned? Perhaps after the
passage of fifteen Years, some perspective can be gained on the quiet
Virginian from the US Air Force Reserve who for four years had"fiown
the most dang rious and most successful reconnaissance mission in nist,,
A more incorQ'',1a'43 figure for: the spy label than'Franris.-
-
Gary Powers-,.4ould be '13 imagAne. An amiabl , r.srved ban.frow
, the hills of Virtiniz, years old at the vine of. his disppaarance�
very much in the boy' tradition he had .ijiadethe leap from
humble but proud bac
in Pound,. Virginia to co,Tmissioned status in
'*Walters, LtGen Vernon A','General. eGaulle in Action, Studies .in
Intelligence, Winter 11".---74..: Article contains an eye witness aCcount-
by the present DLICI of the Conference and its frictjons.
r*Straners on Br1 by James B. Donovan, N.Y.- 15o4.
A
(b)(
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th!".� Ur, Aii" ';,. He liE!s aCci":.
� N., 3 -3 C
as a
f1:rtt:714eUtenant, �
at th time of his rec:rui tent. for. the project in �n55. Aviation was
his passion and hit been ever since his first flight at age fourteen
wha he found something special about it, 'like climing mountains,
only better.1* A superb pilot and navigator he was considered by some
to be the best pilot in the project composed of a care::ully selected
� elite. Havin.:jutt misted: the -Korean Confl ict.and, Completed- ,ix years
in the.:Air Force 'including Mastery: of 'f119h :1-r-form3nce aircraft, ,Pbwers
was 'ready for the greater :challenge of-the U72-,and the reconnaissance -
.overflights. Money was a but not the.MotiVatinl:faCtor. :The aviation
aspects of the mission were very intriguing as borne out by the training
which except for a week of evasion training at an Agency base, took -
place in a remote area of the US west. Thoroughly checked out on the
equipment Powers later claimed that no one from the Agency ever briefed
the pilots on the precedure to follow if forced down in Russia The
pilots preferred not even to talk about that, awful possibility lest they.
-
be tempting fate. Thinkino about the unthinkable wa,-; not exactl
fo-e of the action type of which Powers was a prime xamp Other
negative characteristics, e.,ch as a tendency of self pity, entue1y
understandaY:e in light -' tie barrage of unfavorable publicity whi-h
,
Powers felt ne bore al 7--.E7 :.d to his deoi5ration-of tie public and
his loss of faith in the -gency, an outcome vary different to that
the other rHIA cases -:,-, some of the *resentment undoubtedly resulted
'from the many irijustic dore Powers as the nation took out on him the
many frustrations that it felt over this unhappy episode of the cold war.
4-Operation Overflight by Francis GarY Powers with Curt Gentry, UV, 1970 p.
kireowneyand Fecteau for example � field �no rancor-.,evelri after twenty years of
captivity.
' �
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VI:AS HE AU ENf-'t
Al thbugh a co4onent�_Of the DDP * t-he-DevelOpental
Project Diyis ibn �(EYo)- which ran, the. highly � Classified U-2
project, -- was completely compartmented from the rest of
the
� �
Agency, haying its own support components including security, and
personnel. The Powers case, however, received too Nuch international
attention to be contained within the confines of ei th,er DPD or CIA.
Diplomatic and release efforts were conducted at the very hiclhest
levels in the White House, the State Department, and the Agency;
Messrs. Dulles, Bissel, General Cabell from the CIA; Assistant
Secretary of State Charles Bohlen for the State Department and
General Good Paster for the President being in attendance at the
,
various meetings. The General Counsel, Lawrence. Houston and his
(b)(3)--
assittant. were the Agency focal point for these (b)(6)
efforts.
On the administrative level DPD- pulled toga- er:.an,:informal
l'Oup cohs:1-stirn'of sUpport personnel assigned to the project and or
. -
representatives
73tral Personnel and Security The -
most pressi'nQ administ7-a 3 7e task was to determine. Powers' employMent.-
*Richard 1. B-is.sei been prime Agency. mover .development
of .the U-2 project as -,ecial Assistant to the D(T; t�.0.s at. this
.the Deputy Qi.r'ettor ars (DDP) a post which he held -Frcirli 1 tlanur,,y.
1959 until h'is resicra:-,c,:i on 17.Feb 1962:
??;-,1.0.'nn Nct;.lahon, Persc= . Officer Of:. the:::QPD L.1,as::t.heYo6;._,.-4 point On -.the ,
Support side. :. Bn. DE,;;11ce..1.'epresented the Personnel: Oirector,.-and.-..(b)(3),
, Jr-. , the GeneraTGOuntel ..H.:A major role: :i.laS .played ::.(b)(6) :
as C,-17'. ---an of ..the Damage, Assessment CoMmittee- and b.v...-(b)(3).:.i.
. _
of the Ci :Etaff and by,Securi ,- - '''' rs_datailed to.-DPD ..(b)(30:
by
John ertz
ncl uded
-f-,oup.- of 0 Inc going'
....whb handled Barbara ':-.)bwers problems and
. Joseph E. 03Tphy, the security officer
at the time of...echange was added to:;this
in the .Powers case. -
headed
and H.
Land d_orie;ed Powers. (b)(6)1
who identified 'Poworsn,;(
(nlv:11
Bruce L , Sol e assis '
(b)(6?
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tr.IS
hc or .,.was. he. ,.na.t 'a feerl! '(..!'01p1 with
of the Miss int] Persons Act? Powers .was in .a.1):,-)pi rite(' cOntrcf.-,
eiTs,ployee of the Agency, a :doubtful category for.,an lilA. cie but. '
any doubts were resolved in his favor. .0n 10 flay 1960 Direttor
:of Personnel quali-Fied him for the benefit's of. the Oitsing rson
Act (Public Law 490, 77th Congress), atithorized. ontinuante
pay
and allowances, and assumed financial control, through Chi,e1,. Benefits
end Services Oivision, OP of his accred funds and allotment disburse-
ments. There was a considerable measure of moral responsibility for
Powers accepted by the CIA in this action and in continuing the contrac
during the period of captivity. The contract, originally written in
May 1956; had been renewed for the second time on 1 November 1959,
through 31 October 1960, called for renurnE.,ration as follows:
1
When in General 'Duty Status - $1,000 per month.
Perational Duty Status in the US
rational
tatus Overseas
�-� � �
In: eddi ti on to the above amounts of compensation ...$500
per month for each month c service in an 0oeracional Duy Scatus
overseas
:In
a, ti on
�r, .
e.d, � -th.2r..2 was.,
payable upol appointment an .a.moun-c. z. :DO
i113 71 t h for each .month
'S tatUs 1fl tflC United olieriea's prdyilded S211/1ita3
-
satisfactory and 'there �-�,?..s no ElOa.ndonment Of obligationS.
Duty
*t�ii ssi rig in action is technical term which includes not only those
Ar-,ericer:s in their counzry's active duty who are litrally trnissin
but also those who are, ' intE.,rned ir. a neutral country, captured by
an enrily, be.1 eagured or besieged.'
ire to'c.al sum, whE.,.n paid, equaled the compf-..nsation of the most senior
-4 nc rhn A-1%,
v,
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Only the funds involved in: the final clause of Ahe
contract, namely the $500 aitionth payable upOn terminatiOn of the
appointment for each month of satisfactory service in an Operational
Duty Status, were not accrued but left for final determination,
It was on this point which the
of press and public when 'Powers
TRIAL AND CAPTIVITY
greatest confusion, arose on the part
returned in 195..
Powers was .put .on trial for his life in August 96Q... ,
The Moscow 'spectacular' was .carefully managed :to .0a.Mage.US.'prtige
and further Soviet propaganda .aims..* Powers' sentence of ten years,
three in prison and seven in labor- camps, was relatively mild consider-
lng the espionage charge. Powers publicly confessed to being deeplY.
�*Allen Dulles, writing in 1965 revealed the degree to which the entire
U-2 Affair was orchestrated by the Soviets:
Arid while I am discussing Myths and misconceptions,
-might tilt at a"ther myth connection -with the 11-2
namely the ii'-r-3hchev was shocked and surprised at it
all. As a of fact, he had known for years about -
the flights, t-3,;h his information in the early period .
was nat accura7e in all respects. Diplomatic notes were
e.changed arf =ished well before 1 MaY 1950, the date
cf the U-2 fa-H._-e when Khrushchev's tracking techniques
had become F0-2 accurate. Still, since he had been unable
to do any-chirc about the fact of his impotence to his own
people, a:-#e -e stopped sending protests.
His rage at te. Paris Conference was feigned for a purpose__
At the t7--e -2 saw no prospect for success at the conference
on the- si_fcsfe:: of Berlin. He was then in deep trouble with
the Chir-se 27...Tmunists. Following his visit to President -
Eisenho,,q.r in the fall of 1959, he had been unable to
d'..iring his stop at Peking en route back from the
Un7d States. Furthermore, he was apprehensive that the
Soviet people would react too favor.ably to President
Eisenhower's planned trip to the USSR in the summer of 1960_
Inflt:nced by all these considerations, he decided to use
the U-7 as a good excuse for torpedoing both the trip and
the conFerence. The Craft of Intelligence, NY 1965 .
4.%
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a:id:prb1ound1:1,
'iorry... for -hi s flight,.sta
. re trosp....; t seemed. fairly apparent. NeVerthejoS
, his abjec
-and-the pictLires that accompanied it, one in particular iinich-Showed.
Powers. from the side With-his head slmped On 'hit chest. prob.ablY',taken
in a moment of fatigue,. did not Sit well and the U.S. public Was:
left with the '-impression that PoWers had served his countrY--.PP0.1
It was a self-fulfilling Kind ol uation. Powers said late r that
his Russian interrogators had lifted th2 Iron Curtain about two weeks
after his capture and ronths before the trial to reveal what the
American press was saying about him. From that point forward, said
Powers he had two opponents, the Soviet interrogators and the U.
press.** Why do you insist that you are a civilian, his Soviet inter-
rogators kept asking in their efforts to force Powers to condemn both
his country and the U.S. military. U.S. press reports and speculation
about his altitude, his mission, his associates, the location of training
bases, deployments, careful ,y screened to give th- le to his L.cs imony
were thrown at nii unexbect he technique was very upsetting to
Powers, increasin his fears :f being trapped in falsehoods, and adding
to his des0a fo.r his
.DurIng and pre�s.s. ClaiTiOr in Cr2 United Sctes
-
rOse to a crescendo to understand now,.c. ter c.ne pds-..,age
a decade or more.... PO Wei-'S faultc'd for- his confessiOn, ifar:
*Powers and Gentry, Opci,- 134
**ilik-nail I. Griniev was -1,ri by the Soviets to conduct Powers defense.,
di, lack of effort contra sharply with the _spirited defense of Col.
Abel by Attorney James 5. Lonovan. The theoretical arguT�ent, developed
by American attorneys, on -,:reedom of the air as never -m:--Ide.� ..lt -stated .
_that since Russia 'did nL: control the air -space -over her borders and had
not agreed to international .conventions to limi t sovareign.ty, air space
at the cruising altitude of the U-2 was free in the same sense that ,the'
.sea is free beyond the three mile limit.
1
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t,: has been repo'ct:ed.'
said bile boijorjai thilt.._a,t-
-
pilots themselves and their planes up :,:hen they ran into trouble.
These are the real U-2 heros and Powers should not be allowed to jtalii
them:until he has given a good-eY,planatjOn of why he failed to do the�:.
same. "r The statement was entirely false and insulting not on
Powers but to the two pilots who had lost
Lit. r h....rl 11 1 I 1trCLI 11),1 th
experimental and testing phase of the U. project in the
'Should we be alarmed by the difference between the behav or-
of Airman Powers and of Nathan Hale asked Fund rn the Republic .
-.President Robert ijaynard. UuchinS as he laUnched a two-year study
of the decline in the Moral character Of America
IMPRISONMENT.
Some eighteen .months .of prison-life ensued for ftwers. 0 e
month after ,his trial he was moved from the Lubinaka to Vladimir
'Prison about- one hunthed and fifty miles east of Moscow on
trans-Siberian rail road.
a choice of solitary confinement or
-
a cellmate, chose-te: latter, :A Latvian named Zi gurd-
charned esoionacE.- assigned to his cell and Poweit reporte..q
that he
-
;fly had K n speaking English v-irgtnia- ' ,
.f
:A8 -iin,..xpectd bonus : mother � furrilIct. d vitam.ns 011 thci;
correct Powers' sigt
despite the �poVertyc7
.rtin
ciency- at: one poln She: al s:O.furnish..',w1,.
Latvian peasants, ..certain colors -tha
*Dalbs Morning-..,NE,:ws � clOotd� in Powers - ntry 'Pp
**Not all th,.. public �,,,ias critical.' .Powers recieived a large �number of'
Christmas: cariis from the San..francisco .area.-. -They were' sent as a result:
of a notation by H'Drb Caen., a columnist for the :San FranciSto :Chronicle:
-'Whi le you are making out yoOr ;;as cards:Temmber to sedd one to -....:.�H
Francis Gary �Powers c/o :American Er.:jbassy, Moscow, USSR:- ,:.1_:-,4 hi..m..knoi,,
t-,'-iat 11-2havenit forgotten,' RoWers anit',6entry, OpCit 0.-'.244--,
, .
,
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the.-prisoners used in their rug Making.: Chess Obying., reading
and letter writing helped to offset in so!:!e-ineasure'the cold,
drab days, and the despair Powers felt at his sentcnce and confine-
ment. At one point he had to refute a story in thr.! British press to
the effect that he had been oCered his freedom in exchange for
repudiating his country and living in the Soviet Union. No such
offer was ever made and at no point before, during or after his
trial did Powers ever condemn or renounce his country. The long
silences of his wife and the possible ill health of his parents
for whom he felt, as did the other MIA's, the strongest of
attachments,were continuous sources of worry during his imprisonment.
DIFFICULTIES IN THE USA, AUG 1960 - FEB 1962
Having es
ished PPwer status as a federa. empl_oyee, Tfl
_
errs of tie MisSing Pe.r.tenS Act, the Director; Of'Personhel represent.atiVe
moved to safeguard his frds and render assistance to his family,
functions 'e;hich in Po.e.-s case proved to be contradictory. Powe.rs
had left 77; allotment -.-scructions of any kinzi since his Hfe
ybeen �returned
;417E. �--si oversE,as N's Pc iers ec
ne United States shorioDx3r
after- the. .:shoot with. -�-�atton.ey�-.� . aware of
*Be..n De..IFelic.,..-., .curre--:y t.he Agency's Deputy Director of Personnel
The. Pcr.vers case was not assigned to the AD-�;-oc Cox:if-Ottee which aciniinistere
the affairs of the other NIA'S. --. i
,
.,--E-T
!
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the s.troig"pOSI tion. Wh .ch tni s CiOCUci1.tl. � ,(J-J
that her hul'and':S._ actruesa1ary and i!1 lowan.ce.s .be g.i von, to. ;1e4- -.in
� to LO' :Argling :that -her-krisb.,1-;hd.'s� help] es.s .1i)osition-:a.n.d. her ..(y.-111��
sense� of w-hat was:right. would. not permit th:is, the Agi.2ncy 'iii ins tr Lor
ertully obtajned agreeil:entHfor 6 mOnLhly.,aIlotent.'.Of ,i portion of
the salary. �Mrs. Powers was childless without dependents of any. kind
.and her. basic needs were judg'ed. s not requiring the amount demanded.
The arrangent, which intluded,riedical and health expenses
Preserved
most of the accrued funds for investwnt, similarly to that of other
Missing in Action cases. It continued throughout the captivity_
The difficulties of the financial negotiations: with Mrs Powers
paled in comparison to the problems she presented to the Agency's
security officers.** Returned to her home town of Milledgeville,
Georgeia, after her husband was shot down, Barbara Powers became more
and more of a security risk as her conduct and behavior deteriorated
_
riderT-the stress and strain
, _ _
f publicity, her ca'P:Livi.1-Y, an
er ill advise, actions.. separation tipped the balance in what h,
� -
.. . __
-.. been: a shaky ,-, arri:Lge,' n,
ri s.uTte(1.2.-i:fi - .inirliecus escapades,-:a dozen arrests
. . .. _
and evertual' -niatric --_. 7.7...ment for,altoholittn.:. The...cooperation 'of
. ...
. . ,. .
local law enfor'cem-nt off'..---:-. 5 and that of -h,.. %-i'ctor, a dedicated
paratrooper : veteran.. Of tr.,.e. 2274 Ai.rborno',*7k..* ke t hef'..-.eccentrititi -
, - -, ,
-.and odditit-!sr. of beh'avicr becoMing pOlicfc. , devel'Opmeht.
::(- �
...which wduld have been t7-C,.5':-,. .,:n fortunate for :both ... _ Acjepcy and the husband-
.
*:...",,...fdicaL fees and sari ToWers ha-dtot);,. hospitalized:.
. .
n..r1::i.r psych a tric tare ..-' ere -pa id froia': POWC.S. :1)04 talrizat ion policy
-..LE4.,:::;,ers: fees and: trayel �Powers:'-and he-i-,-,other -were
- - .
pai-d for by tha.- USG:
retired' in 1973; 'in 1965; and
[ in 1i/3 .'.;ere: th4 brinr'iriT11.
iecyrjty..officerS:in:the.tase....-
would take np [7:011e.y. until lle..wei-
p4yents were not CW:in g from:'.-Powers..1..funos..
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res UTt waS that Po;ers had 1 it Lie in the way. oi
Communi.cation:from his wife at the u
SUijiOCt.
,--- he-was being
..subjectecLto-rthe:pressures and tensions of hiS imoriSOhment..-
_
so sqap,y:.-Asp.,(ts'.of the Powers case anything th u couicLbe saiu
would have �added to his woes.
Li key.
It vas a different 'story with Powers large and close kni
family. Precipitated almost overnight ;rom the Obscurity of a
Virginia mountain community into the world spotlight including
attendance_ at the Moscow trials, they gave him strong support, the
father taking the lead in pressing for his son's release Oliver
Powers was an ex-coalminer, soldier and farmer, who, in May 1960,
had his own shoe repair business in Norton, Virginia_ He was convinced
that if only he could get to talk with Khrushch v as one farmer to another,
he could win his son's release. Spurred on by journalists (Life magazine:-
, ;
_ _
aid all his expenses), and by local includjn,
- -
rl ml-ee. and SOT / %Norton.; Virgiria
Tawyr. name
ep.artnentstore .owner..
the father addressed to the Soviet Premler and sent a letter to
Colonel Abel sugg stinc
nothing to .1'3 with the
Rogers, na7,ed by the
an exchange be He would haVe�
.awyers,_Alexander .W. 'Parker and Frank
. .
Bar Associatlon-Gt*tne request of the
State Department to-.dafec his sen. He never qui te..understood the
-'.tvbleties of .his son's -.ationShip to..theCIA..s0-that is eal
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actions were more .of. a problem to the .State Department than they,
were, to the Agency Vntil Gary Powers Managed som=.h&i.t. in fflot:6&.4 to
et the word to his father to lay off .the .journalistic :72.nterprise..
Ill advised though some -of the release efforts may have .
the -.majil from home- and the packages stistai ni -
,
�
nne letter:from the mother mentions that, -(DaddY.went:0 o the .
. high knob .tp.try to get -a deer thi:s mornijIg.)-
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Approved for Release: 2019/05/21 C05782119
.POWER3.-:ABEI EXCHANC ,Jo.reb.rua.q
Fortunately for those. cOnce.rned: iticludThg. the prisoner-,
the Powers case for :all i'tS'..intensity is olerci.fully.brieFflis
j.mprisonment.which began*with�the�shoo-jdown..On 1 ii I96p.
with the celebrated exchnge for KGB Colonel Abel on GlienickPr
Bride� between East and West Berlin on 10 Feburary 1952. A. number
of factorsi.ead to the e-change. Some of the pse.rsonal hard feeling-
between President Eisenhower and Premier. KhrushchPv oi the Powers
matter was dissipated by the ne',1 Kennedy Adillinistration w`nich took
office in January 1961. There were a number of diplonitic feelers
from the Soviet Union v;hich carefully avoided terms such as exchange
since they never admitted that Abel was 'theirs' and yet gave the
impression that they wanted him back. A petition, possiblc; KGB
inspired, W as sent by Mrs. Abel in East Berlin to President Kennedy
on 8 February 1961, pleading her husband's release. The idea of
exchange had been proposed by .the father, Oliver owers o Col Abel
- , - _
-,.
.who referred aim to the At torney General, Robert Kennedy-. Things -
-did not 'fall into place. -z-asi ly, however. So:Le people in government
wanted no
w
the CoMmt.::-,4.sts tha
political ores ti
Allen Dul I es
:e
Peking or Moscow that would have left
a's--both j value of cotinedity ,gained and in
reaction ws in response the
report tha
�
to .one �writer', wanted to trade Abel for
American prisoners be--jr�-J, Bamboo and Iron curtains. Both the Federal
Bureau of Prisons E., - e Federal Bureu of Investigation were opposed*"?
to the rele.ase groundo that given time and pressure Abel would
Cookridge, -Spy Trade. NY 1971:p. 86 Allen Dulles retired 29 rov
and John McCone succeeded him as DCI.
Ir'Y'Accordi.n-.1 'to Agency. sources".
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Approved for Release: 2019/05/21 C05782119
talk.about whole :Opera Lion in the..tifri ted:�.States sot.rtathi'ng"-t .at he
had failed to do five years of imprisorm:ent. The decision t
was probably made at the Presidential level. Includ d in the trans-
action were two other American's,* neither associated with the US
government. They had been picked up while in te So"lCL Union as
tourists. The interr,:ediary was Attf:irney James B. Donovan of New York
an GSS alumnus, who had served as Abel's ciefe.nse coins in tne 1957
trial and had continued his contacts with the KGB officer in p-ison
Dor,ovan's opposite number was the so called second secretary of the
Soviet Embassy in East Berlin, Ivan AlexandroVich Schischkin. Betwee.n
them they worked out the details of the exchange arrangements, already
agreed on a higher level; in ten intensive days in Berlin; preceeded
in Donovan's case by r.umerous Washington meetings stretching back into
January. 'At exactly 8:20 (a.m.), I walked to the center of the bridge,
trade
flanked by Alan Lightner of the State Department. flissiOn in Bar-li.n:and
, -
oUng:civilian. W o ned peen a coMrade of ewers
-days', Wrote Dorloveri.
'Young ci vi 1 i
Triyib
t/asl. Joseph E. Murphy, C112
(b)(1)
security cffq
there to mak -sure of thei"
(b)(3)
-
identifi ca ti�on: was not going -co et 1-D e1 ;oc,,se until .their
i.
- officer was able 'This is Gary Powers.
-(b)(1)
(b)(3)
Frederic L. Pryor, t
� Marvin Makinen, Ur,e
� promised clemency.
student from. Nichiga.n was: release simu1tarte.ot..,s1
of Pennsylvania- student touring Russia, was: 2
- ,
jamPs B. Donovan, �St-angers on a Bridge., N.Y. 1964 Donovans book- deals
with the Abel case f�-7.7 :)eginning to end�. Powers takes some exception in
his book, Operation C igh I:, to Donovan's rather cavalier treatment
which Pc.,./e.rs thoug'n a,-2-2.ed to the .unfavorable light he was put in by the
me.di.a. In retrospect it would seem that U12 attorney did not have
suFficient contact with the American flyer to appr4ise him properly.
Donovan is now deceased,
***Opcit.
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�
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AFTERNATN: -INQUIRIES GALORE
The news oF the exchange was no exactly. received with
acclaim il in the United States. William F. Tompki.h5,. forPer ASsiSta!
U.S. Attorney General who had prosecOted Abel and this had been ..-
Dgnovan.s adversary was quoted as saying, 'it's like trading
Mic1.