Command, commanding the Third Air Force at the same time. This was followed by a four-year tour as director of Plans at Headquarters Strategic Air Command, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. In 1957 he was named commander of Second Air Force, Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, and four years later returned to Strategic Air Command to become vice commander in chief. In 1962 McConnell was assigned to Europe as deputy commander in chief of the United States European Command and promoted to the rank of general. He was appointed Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force in August 1964, and assumed the position of Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force on 1 February 1965, relieving General Curtis E. LeMay. His appointment as chief of staff was extended to July 1969. McConnell's decorations included the Army Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, Air Force Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, Legion of Merit with three oak leaf clusters, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star Medal, Air Medal, and numerous foreign awards, including Commander of the Order of the British Empire and the Legion of Honor – Degree of Commandeur (France). In June 1965, McConnell was presented an honorary doctor of laws degree from the University of Akron, Akron, Ohio. He also received an honorary doctor of laws degree from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville in June 1966. McConnell retired from the Air Force on July 31, 1969 and died November 21, 1986 in Bethesda, Montgomery County, Maryland. A funeral service was held on November 25 in the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. with burial in the United States Air Force Academy Cemetery in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The public library in his hometown of Booneville, Arkansas is named in his honor and contains many items of memorabilia from his years of service to the US Air Force, including service medals, decorations and commendations as of 2016. Effective dates of promotion Source: Postscript McConnell's role as Chief of Staff of the Air Force, as well as that of the other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Vietnam War, specifically under the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, has recently been the subject of significant historical research in the area of the relationships between senior military leaders (e.g., the JCS) and the civilian political leadership (e.g., the National