Chief of Staff for Force Development, Department of the Army 1970 – 1973: Commanding general of the United States Army Aviation Center and commandant of the United States Army Aviation School, Fort Rucker, Alabama 1973 – 1975: Commanding general of III Corps, Fort Hood, Texas 1975 – 1978: Commanding general of the 5th United States Army, Fort Sam Houston, Texas 1978: Retired from military service on June 30, 1978 with the rank of lieutenant general. Personal life On 19 April 1948, Burdett married Antoinette Salley in Asheville, North Carolina. Together they had four children (Allen III, Douglas, William, and Margaret). His daughter was killed in a car accident in 1984. His wife died on April 24, 2008. After retirement He continued his work with the Board of Directors of the United Services Automobile Association (USAA). He was a longtime member of the Army-Navy Town Club and the Army-Navy Country Club; as a member of the Falls Church Presbyterian Church, Falls Church, Virginia, he served as a deacon; as a member of the Covenant Presbyterian Church, San Antonio, he was a ruling elder. He was also a member of the Society of the Cincinnati. Death Burdett died of cancer on 8 July 1980 in San Antonio, Texas, following a two-month illness. He was buried in the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas. Awards & decorations Combat Infantryman Badge United States Army Senior Aviator Badge Senior Parachutist Badge Army Staff Identification Badge Office of the Secretary of Defense Identification Badge Army Distinguished Service Medal with bronze oak leaf cluster Silver Star Medal with bronze oak leaf cluster Legion of Merit with bronze oak leaf cluster Distinguished Flying Cross with bronze oak leaf cluster Bronze Star Medal with 2 oak leaf clusters Air Medal with 24 oak leaf clusters Army Commendation Medal Air Force Commendation Medal Purple Heart National Order of Vietnam 5th Class Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with palm Vietnam Air Force Distinguished Service Order Presidential Unit Citation Meritorious Unit Commendation with oak leaf cluster Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation In 1980 he was inducted into the Army Aviation Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia. The Lt. Gen. Allen M. Burdett Jr. Army Aviation Flight Safety Award was named in his honor in 1970. The National Boy Scout Court of Honor awarded him the Silver Beaver, one of scouting's highest awards. The San Antonio chapter of the