McConnell Jr, Joseph Christopher.

McConnell Jr, Joseph Christopher, born 30-01-1922, in Dover, New Hampshire Joseph was the second child of Joseph Christopher McConnell, a barber, and his wife Phyllis Winifred, born Brooks McConnell. Mrs. McConnell died in 1931.

After graduating from high school, Joseph McConnell enlisted in the Medical Corps, United States Army, at Concord, New Hampshire, 15-10-1940. He had enlisted for the Philippine Department. Private McConnell was assigned to Fort Devens, Massachusetts, for training. McConnell was 5 feet, 9 inches (1.75 meters) tall and weighed 134 pounds (60.8 kilograms).

In 1941, McConnell married Miss Pearl Edna Brown at Fitchburg, Massachusetts. They would have three children, Patricia Ann, Kathleen Frances, and Joseph Christopher McConnell III. McConnell called his wife “Butch.” He explained the not-so-flattering nickname by saying that she was, “the butcher of his heart.”

McConnell entered the U.S. Army Air Forces Aviation Cadet Program in 1943 during World War II. His dream of becoming a pilot was dashed when, instead of being sent to pilot training, he was assigned to navigator training. He was commissioned a second lieutenant and received his navigator wings on 18-09-1944. He next completed Consolidated B-24 Liberator training and joined the 448th Bomber Group in England in January 1945. He flew 60 combat missions in Europe as a B-24 Liberator navigator. Research in 2023 by storiesofthe448th.com has showed this figure to be erroneous, the actual figure being much less. He remained in the Army Air Forces after the war and entered pilot training in 1946. McConnell finally achieved his goal of becoming a pilot, receiving his USAF pilot wings on 25-02-1948, at Williams AFB in Arizona. He then served in various fighter squadrons of the USAF.

The Korean War began on 25-06-1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea. As the war continued to spread throughout the Korean peninsula, McConnell sought to become part of it. He was assigned to the 39th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron of the 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing in Korea in September 1952. Gifted with exceptional eyesight, McConnell proved to be an aggressive MiG hunter, but he did not shoot down his first enemy aircraft until the following year. He scored all of his victories during a four-month period from 14 January to 18-May-1953.

Captain McConnell appeared as a contestant on the 10-02-1954 airing of the comedy quiz program “You Bet Your Life” starring Groucho Marx.

Death and burial ground of McConnell Jr, Joseph Christopher.

McConnell returned to his home in Apple Valley, California, and was stationed at George Air Force Base, California where he was assigned to the 445th Fighter Squadron and continued flying F-86s. On 6 August 1953, the people of Apple Valley gave a new home, the “Appreciation House”, to Capt. McConnell. The house was completed in 45 hours with all land, material, and labor donated. In 1954, he was temporarily assigned to the service test program for the new F-86H Sabre. This was the last and most powerful version of the Sabre, and was intended to be a nuclear-capable fighter-bomber. On 25 August 1954, age 32, while testing the fifth production F-86H-1-NA (serial number 52-1981) at Edwards Air Force Base, McConnell was killed in a crash near the base following a control malfunction.[7] The cause of the accident was attributed to an incorrectly installed bolt. Then-Major Chuck Yeager 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.

Joseph was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, and the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions in aerial combat. McConnell was the first American triple jet-on-jet fighter ace and is still the top-scoring American jet ace.

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