Harrell, B. (William S.), 1920-2006

William S. Harrell (b. 1920, Pleasant Hill, Alabama-d. March 18, 2006), U.S. Air Force officer, graduated from advanced flying school and received his commission in the Army Air Corps in 1941. He served with the 89th Fighter Squadron in the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations as a fighter pilot and commander from 1942 to 1944. In the late 1940s, he served as a squadron commander with the 414th and 18th Fighter Groups in the Philippines and the 51st Fighter Group on Okinawa, and was appointed chief of the Flight Test Unit at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. During the 1950s, General Harrell was chief of the Bomber Defense Branch, Strategic Air Division at Air Force Headquarters, then commander of the 406th Fighter Interceptor Group in Europe, and later director of the Combat Operations Center, Western Air Defense Force HQ. He assumed command of the 24th NORAD/CONAD Region in 1971 and retired in 1973.