Editing Curtis LeMay (section)

==Post-military career==

===Early political life and developments===
[[File:Retired GEN Curtis E. LeMay listens to a question during an interview taped for the National Air and Space Museum DF-ST-91-04556.jpg|thumb|LeMay in 1987]]

Because of his unrelenting opposition to the Johnson administration's Vietnam policy and what was widely perceived as his hostility to McNamara, LeMay was essentially forced into retirement in February 1965. Moving to California, he was approached by conservatives to challenge moderate [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[Thomas Kuchel]] for his seat in the [[United States Senate]] in 1968, but he declined.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/general-curtis-e-lemay-strategic-command-2360556 |title=General Curtis E. LeMay: Father of the Strategic Air Command |last=Hickman |first=Kennedy |date=2016 |website=ThoughtCo |access-date=October 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170626221507/http://www.thoughtco.com/general-curtis-e-lemay-strategic-command-2360556 |archive-date=June 26, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Vice presidential candidacy, 1968===
For the [[1968 United States presidential election|1968 presidential election]], LeMay originally supported former Republican Vice President Richard Nixon; he turned down two requests by former Alabama Governor [[George Wallace]] to join his newly formed [[American Independent Party]], that year, on the grounds that a third-party candidacy might hurt Nixon's chances at the polls. (By coincidence, Wallace had served as a [[Sergeant (United States)|sergeant]] in a unit commanded by LeMay during World War II before LeMay had Wallace transferred to the 477th Bombardment Group.)

In 1968 LeMay threw his support to Wallace and became his vice-presidential running mate on the American Independent Party ticket. The campaign saw Wallace's record on [[racial segregation]] heavily scrutinized.<ref name="how_turner" /> 

Wallace's staff began to consider LeMay to be "politically tone-deaf" as LeMay made several comments at campaign events speculating about the possibility of nuclear war,<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/dVrei_K7kyE Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20140616004018/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVrei_K7kyE Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVrei_K7kyE| title = VP candidate LeMay puts foot in it, 1968. Film 90672 | website=[[YouTube]]| date = November 14, 2013 }}{{cbignore}}</ref> including the press conference where Wallace introduced LeMay as his running mate, where LeMay voiced his belief that there were many situations where the use of nuclear weapons would be efficient and that dropping nuclear bombs would result in positive outcomes for the environment. LeMay's arguments that the American public had a "phobia" of atomic weapons failed to change the perception that some American voters had of the Wallace-LeMay ticket.<ref>{{cite book |last=Carter |first=Dan T. |url=https://archive.org/details/politicsofragege00cart |title=The Politics of Rage: George Wallace, the Origins of the New Conservatism, and the Transformation of American Politics |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=1995 |isbn=0-8071-2597-0 |location=New York |pages=[https://archive.org/details/politicsofragege00cart/page/357 357–360] |ref=Carter1995 |url-access=registration}}</ref>

The Wallace-LeMay AIP ticket received 13.5% of the popular vote, higher than most third party candidacies in the US, and carried five states for a total of 46 [[Electoral College (United States)|electoral votes]].<ref>{{cite web|title=1968 Presidential General Elections Results|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=1968|website=U.S. Election Atlas.org|access-date=July 13, 2016}}</ref>

===Honors===
LeMay was honored by several countries for his military service. His U.S. military decorations included the [[Distinguished Service Cross (United States)|Distinguished Service Cross]], the [[Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army)|Distinguished Service Medal]] with two oak leaf clusters, the [[Silver Star]], the [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]] with two oak leaf clusters, and the [[Air Medal]] with three oak leaf clusters. He was also a recipient of the French [[Légion d'honneur]] and on December 7, 1964 the Japanese government conferred on him the First Order of Merit with the [[Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun]]. He was elected to the [[Alfalfa Club]] in 1957 and served as a general officer for 21 years.

In 1977, LeMay was inducted into the [[International Air & Space Hall of Fame]] at the [[San Diego Air & Space Museum]].<ref>Sprekelmeyer, Linda, editor. ''These We Honor: The International Aerospace Hall of Fame''. Donning Co. Publishers, 2006. {{ISBN|978-1-57864-397-4}}.</ref>

The Air Force has the General Curtis E. LeMay Award named in his honor. The award recognizes the best large installation-level Force Support Squadron.