Former U-2 pilot posthumously awarded Silver Star

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz presents the Silver Star, posthumously awarded to Capt. Francis Gary Powers, to the captain’s grandchildren, Francis Gary “Trey” Powers III and Lindsey Barry, on June 15, 2012, in the Pentagon. Captain Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union on May 1, 1960, and received the decoration for the heroism he displayed while held prisoner by the Soviets. He was released in 1962 but subsequently died in a 1977 helicopter crash. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Christina Brownlow)

Former U-2 pilot posthumously awarded Silver Star

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz celebrates with Gary Powers Jr. and Dee Powers, children of Capt. Francis Gary Powers, after Schwartz presented the captain’s posthumous Silver Star to the family on June 15, 2012, in the Pentagon. Captain Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union on May 1, 1960, and received the decoration for the heroism he displayed while held prisoner by the Soviets. He was released in 1962 but subsequently died in a 1977 helicopter crash. (U.S. Air Force photo/Scott M. Ash)

Former U-2 pilot posthumously awarded Silver Star

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz presents the Silver Star, posthumously awarded to Capt. Francis Gary Powers, to the captain’s grandchildren, Francis Gary “Trey” Powers III and Lindsey Barry, on June 15, 2012, in the Pentagon. Captain Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union on May 1, 1960, and received the decoration for the heroism he displayed while held prisoner by the Soviets. He was released in 1962 but subsequently died in a 1977 helicopter crash. (U.S. Air Force photo/Scott M. Ash)

Doolittle Raid 70th anniversary

Surviving Doolittle Raider Major Thomas C. Griffin, navigator of the #9 plane, greets attendees of a banquet to honor the Raiders during their 70th reunion at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, April 19, 2012. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Bennie J. Davis III)

Former POW shares reintegration tips with reservists and their families

Then-Capt. Lee Ellis arrives at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., in 1973, after spending more than five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. Ellis shared his tips for reintegration with Air Force reservists and their family members at a Yellow Ribbon event in San Diego on Feb. 25, 2012. (Courtesy photo)

Retired Chief Master Sgt. Francis Collier

Retired Chief Master Sgt. Francis Collier receives a commemorative graphic and challenge coin from Chief Master Sgt. Corliss Johnson, the vice president of the National Capital Region Chiefs Group, while his wife, Lillian, looks on during a ceremony Oct. 29, 2011, at the Air Force Memorial in Arlington, Va. Collier was one of 625 Airmen promoted to the new grade chief master sergeant as a result of the Career Compensation Act of 1958. (U.S. Air Force photo/ Staff Sgt. Tiffany Trojca)