Cold War Virginia

In Defense of Democracy

The Commonwealth played a central role in United States involvement during the Cold War. With doomsday planning operations underway for World War 3, the locations of the Pentagon, CIA and other federal agencies established Northern Virginia as an epicenter of decision-making. As Virginia military bases readied for a potential surprise attack by the Soviet Union, local research facilities played a paramount role in the Space Race. In 1960, the Soviet Union's shoot-down of U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers, a Virginian native, created a superpower crisis of epic proportions. Cold War historians Francis Gary Powers Jr. and Christopher Sturdevant tell these and other tales of espionage, heroism and betrayal.