Allen Lawrence Pope
American military aviator (1928–2020) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Allen Lawrence Pope (October 20, 1928 – April 4, 2020) was an American military and paramilitary aviator. He rose to international attention as the subject of a diplomatic dispute between the United States and Indonesia after the B-26 Invader[lower-alpha 1] aircraft he was piloting in a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) covert operation was shot down over Ambon on May 18, 1958, during the "Indonesian Crisis".
Allen Lawrence Pope | |
---|---|
Born | (1928-10-20)October 20, 1928 Miami, Florida, U.S. |
Died | April 4, 2020(2020-04-04) (aged 91) U.S. |
Buried | |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | United States Air Force Central Intelligence Agency |
Rank | First lieutenant |
Battles/wars | Korean War First Indochina War Permesta Rebellion |
Awards | Air Medal (3) Distinguished Flying Cross Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur |
Other work | Flight instructor |
Pope's aviation career began with the United States Air Force, serving with distinction flying bombing missions in the Korean War. He transferred to the CIA in 1954, which he also served with distinction flying transport missions in the First Indochina War.
In the Permesta rebellion in Indonesia in 1958, Pope again flew bombing missions for the CIA. Shot down by government forces, he was captured and held under house arrest for just over four years. In 1960, an Indonesian court condemned him to death, but considerable back-channel negotiations led to his release by President Sukarno in 1962. Pope returned to the United States and subsequently flew CIA covert missions in other theaters.
In 2005, France made Pope a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur for his service in Indochina.