Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame

Declaration of Enshrinement

November 8, 2014

John Parangosky

In the mid-1950s and during the Cold War, Parangosky joined the CIA’s highly classified IDEALIST program management, where he participated in all aspects of the U-2’s development, flight testing at Groom Lake, aka Area 51, Nevada, and its early deployments. Parangosky served as the CIA’s OXCART program executive officer and program manager, overseeing the CIA’s A-12 reconnaissance plane’s first test flight at Groom Lake on April 30, 1962, its operational certification in November 1965, and deployment overseas as part of operation BLACK SHIELD. In 1967, in recognition of his performance and contributions to the A-12 Program, Parangosky received the Distinguished Intelligence Medal, one of the CIA’s highest awards.

For his role in Nevada bringing to fruition some of the world’s most sophisticated aerial and space-based technical intelligence collection systems from the mid-1950s through the mid-1970s, John Parangosky earned his place in the Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame.

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TD BARNES, Executive Director

Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame