was assigned to investigate the crash and replicated the malfunction at a much higher altitude. This height advantage allowed him to safely regain control of the aircraft before it hit the desert floor. The 1955 film The McConnell Story, starring Alan Ladd and June Allyson, chronicles his life story. The book Sabre Jet Ace (1959) by Charles Ira Coombs is a fictionalized biography for young readers covering his experiences as a fighter pilot in Korea. McConnell's wife, Pearl "Butch" McConnell, died in 2008 at the age of 86. She never remarried and was buried with Captain McConnell at Victor Valley Memorial Park in Victorville, California. Military decorations His decorations include: Distinguished Service Cross citation Citation: See also List of Korean War air aces References Notes Bibliography Baugher, Joe. "USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers – 1908 to Present", USAF Serials. Retrieved: 5 March 2011. Coombs, Charles. Sabre Jet Ace (The American Adventure Series). Evanston, Illinois, USA: Row, Peterson and Company, 1961, First edition 1959. Davis, Larry. MiG Alley. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1978. . Gurney, Gene. Five Down and Glory. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1958. . Shores, Christopher. Fighter Aces. London: Hamlyn Publishing, 1975. . Thompson, Warren. F-86 Sabre Aces of the 51st Fighter Wing. London: Osprey, 2006. . External links The Crash of McConnell's F-86H Photograph of McConnell's Sabre showing the name "Beauteous Butch II", "Sabres and Aces", Air Force Magazine, September 2006, p. 85. Capt. Joseph McConnell; Account of McConnell's Korean War experiences, with photographs F-86H photograph from National Museum of the USAF Chinese said they shot down McConnell 1922 births 1954 deaths American Korean War flying aces American test pilots Aviators from New Hampshire Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States People from Apple Valley, California People from Dover, New Hampshire Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Recipients of the Silver Star Shot-down aviators United States Air Force officers United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1954 Military personnel from California