A ceremony to award the Silver Star will be held this Friday at the Pentagon in Arlington Virginia to recognize courage under harsh interrogation. Famed Southwest Virginia spy-plane pilot Francis Gary Powers will be the recipient in honor of his captivity in the Soviet Union more than 50 years ago. The Silver Star is the third highest combat military decoration for valor. New records prove that Powers was a first lieutenant on active duty before becoming a civilian to join the CIA’s reconnaissance program in 1956. He was a commissioned officer when shot down and eventually released in a spy trade. Powers then continued his active-duty service while a spy pilot from 1960 to 1962. He was then discharged from the super secret reconnaissance program as a captain. Powers was 47 years old when he died in a helicopter crash back in August of 1977 as a pilot broadcasting traffic updates in Los Angeles. (bg)