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By KATHERINE MICHALETS - GM Today Staff
December 12, 2008
The Cold War Museum-Midwest Chapter has completed the design for its building to be located in Hillcrest Park, but it has yet to get approval from the city of Waukesha and to raise the funds for it. The museum would be located near these remnants of the Nike missile radar site located off of Davidson Road in Waukesha.
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WAUKESHA - Fans of James Bond will learn what it really means to be a spy when they hear former United States Army Intelligence political operative Werner Juretzko speak during the opening of a U2 spy plane exhibit on Saturday.
"People are always intrigued with James Bond and spying," Juretzko said, adding that his experiences differ from those of 007�s.
Juretzko, from Illinois, will open The Cold War Museum-Midwest Chapter�s U2 spy plane exhibit at the New Berlin Public Library on Saturday. As a former prisoner of the KGB and Stasi, East Germany Ministry for State Security, Juretzko has in-depth knowledge of the Cold War.
The piece of a U2 spy plane exhibit centers on the international U2 incident of May 1, 1960, and the subsequent imprisonment of U.S. pilot Francis Gary Powers.
The Cold War Museum-Midwest Chapter is continuing to work on a permanent home in Hillcrest Park in Waukesha, near what is often called Missile Park and was home to one of eight Nike missile batteries in southeastern Wisconsin during the Cold War.
Cold War Museum-Midwest Chapter Chairman Chris Sturdevant said the plan for a permanent building is on track and that the designs for the building have been completed. Next, the museum needs to have those plans approved by the city of Waukesha and begin raising funds.
Sturdevant said the museum plans to expand a building that is already on the site for a cost of about $350,000. Overall, he said he thinks the museum�s fundraising goal will be $500,000 to cover the expansion and other costs, such as maintenance and hidden costs.
Sturdevant said the museum might seek approval for its building plans sometime this year.
Meanwhile, The Cold War Museum-Midwest Chapter continues to sponsor exhibits and talks.
"Its a world-class exhibit," Sturdevant said of the U2 spy plane exhibit.
He said the exhibit will include a piece of the plane, a flight suit, reconnaissance photos and information on the life of Powers, including his training with the CIA, prison time and through his death in the 1970s.
"It�s a really tragic piece in a sense, but it�s an important part of history," Sturdevant said.
When the exhibit is closed April 29, Powers� son, Gary Powers Jr., will give a presentation.
Juretzko, originally from Germany, will give a presentation Saturday on the topic "Espionage: A Weapon during the Cold War," which will detail his time being brutally interrogated in prison and his release to the United States in 1961 after serving six years for military espionage.
"First of all, for the appreciation, So they can appreciate living in freedom. Just think if the other side won - we were pretty close at times," Juretzko said of why people should learn about the Cold War.
At a glance
WHAT: U2 spy plane exhibit opening
WHO: The Cold War Museum-Midwest Chapter
WHEN: 1 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Veterans Room, New Berlin Public Library, 15105 Library Lane
COST: free
MORE INFO: www.coldwar.org/midwestchapter
Katherine Michalets can be reached at kmichalets@conleynet.com
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