The Richmond VA Directory - Efforts underway to open Cold War Museum in Northern VA

Over the past nine years, the Cold War Museum has made great strides in honoring Cold War Veterans and preserving Cold War history. However, the work has just begun and we need to continue our fundraising efforts in order to build The Cold War Museum and Memorial. I am writing to provide you with a brief update on the Museum’s activities and to ask that you make a tax-deductible donation to the Cold War Museum. If you know of friends or family members that would be interested in our efforts, please share this update with them and encourage them to visit www.coldwar.org.

We are at a critical stage of our development. Fairfax County Park Authority is reviewing our second phase proposal to locate at the former Nike Missile Base in Lorton, Virginia and negotiations are underway to occupy the site as early as this fall. Delegate Vince Callahan has put forth a 2006 non-state agency grant request. Last year, the Museum matched a $125,000 Virginia State grant. We need your help to match our state grant again this year.

The Cold War Museum is an affiliate with the Smithsonian Institution. As a result, it has pledges of support for artifact loans from Smithsonian Air and Space, American History, National Portrait, and US Postal Museums. The Museum is working with the Spy Museum in Washington, DC to temporarily display artifacts.

The mobile exhibit on the U-2 Incident, the “Spies of Washington Tour,” and book signing lectures continue to generate interest and support. The mobile exhibit is currently on display at the Southwest Virginia Museum in Big Stone Gap, Virginia through October 10, 2006. If you would like to book the exhibit, please contact the Museum. The educational “Spies of Washington Tour” (www.spytour.com) now includes an optional stop at the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. Our next public tour is May 27, 2006. The Cold War Museum is in negotiations with the National Archives to produce a Cold War lecture series in the near future.

October 13-15, we are planning a groundbreaking ceremony in conjunction with a conference on the 1956 Hungarian and Polish Crises. Sergei Khrushchev, the son of Nikita Khrushchev, Mr. Laszlo Rajk, the son of an executed Communist leader of Hungary, and a representative from the Polish Embassy will be participating. In addition, there will be a book signing and a panel comprised of Nike Missile veterans that will discuss the history of the Nike missile program with specific insight into Lorton site history. Coordinating sponsors include Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, Lorton’s South County High School, Marriott, and the Hungarian Technology Center. Sponsorship opportunities are available.

I am pleased to announce that Congressman Tom Davis (11th Virginia), and Fairfax County Board of Supervisor Chairman, Jerry Connolly have both agreed to serve on the Museum’s Advisory Board. They will join former Secretary of the USAF, Tom Reed; Sergei Khrushchev; Dino Brugioni, renowned photographic interpreter; Joe Lentini, USS Liberty Survivor; and Delegate Dave Albo, who represents Lorton on the Museum’s Advisory Board. Congressman Davis is working to assist the museum at the Federal level. The museum continues its involvement with the Combined Federal Campaign, which allows Federal government and military employees to donate to the Museum directly through payroll deduction.

If you know of friends or family members that would be interested in our efforts, please share this update with them or encourage them to visit www.coldwar.org. Tax-deductible contributions and artifact donations to the Museum will ensure that future generations will remember Cold War events and personalities that forever altered our understanding of national security, international relations, and personal sacrifice for one's country. Please help spread the word about the Museum. Together we can make this vision a reality. If you should have any questions, want additional information, or would like to subscribe to our Cold War Times email newsletter distribution list, please contact:

Francis Gary Powers, Jr. - Founder
The Cold War Museum
P.O. Box 178 - Fairfax, VA 22038
P-(703) 273-2381 / F-(703) 273-4903
www.coldwar.org / This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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