A National Hero, a Local Hero

A National Hero, a Local Hero. Captain Joseph McConnell. , Captain Joseph McConnell began his illustrious military career during World War II as a navigator of a B-24 Liberator with the 448th Bombardment Group of the 8th Air Force. By 1948, he earned his pilot's wings and flew the F-80 Shooting Star in Alaska. By 1952 the Korean War had begun, and he was sent to George Air Force Base in Victorville, where he learned to fly the F-86 fighter jet. He joined the 39th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron of the 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing in Suwon AB Korea, and over a 125-day period in 1953 he destroyed sixteen MiG-15 enemy aircraft, earning the title of Triple Jet Ace. , , He received a hero's welcome upon returning to the United States, and even enjoyed a luncheon with President Dwight D. Eisenhower, but perhaps his warmest welcome came from residents of his adopted "home town," Apple Valley. He was honored with a hero's parade befitting his accomplishments on June 6, 1953 that stretched from Victorville to Apple Valley. As a token of their gratitude, friends and neighbors financed and built the Appreciation House, as it was called, for Captain McConnell, his wife Pearl ("Butch"), and their children Patricia, Kathleen, and Chris. The house itself broke a world record, with a carefully orchestrated schedule of construction that from start to finish, took only 45 hours and 15 minutes to complete! , , His next assignment at George Air Force Base in Victorville was as an instructor pilot with the 479th Fighter-Bomber Wing. Subsequently, he was assigned to Edwards Air Force Base near Palmdale as a test pilot. In August of 1954, he was testing a new version of the plane he had flown in Korea. The F-86H was designed to be both a fighter and a ground attack plane. During a test flight, the plane he was piloting experienced control malfunctions that required he eject from the aircraft. Captain McConnell died from injuries sustained as a result of the ejection. The record of his accomplishments is a part of our national history, and will forever be a part of our local story.