Editing Franz Halder (section)

=== Retirement ===

Halder's work with the Historical Commission drew to a close at the end of the 1950s, and he received praise from [[The Pentagon]]. Rear Admiral Walter Ansel who had worked with Halder while researching [[Operation Sea Lion]], the planned Invasion of England, recommended he become an associate of the [[United States Naval Institute]]. In 1961 he was awarded the [[Meritorious Civilian Service Award]] for this work. This award was bestowed by Major General [[Edgar Collins Doleman Sr.|Edgar C. Doleman]] on behalf of President [[John F. Kennedy]]. Halder thus became the only German to be decorated by both Adolf Hitler and an American president.{{sfn|Smelser| Davies|2008|pp=72–73}} (He had received the [[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross]] from Hitler in 1939.{{sfn|Scherzer|2007|p=362}})

During the 1960s, Halder became akin to a "historical icon", fielding questions from historians and general public alike.{{sfn|Smelser|Davies|2008|p=73}} Halder died in 1972 in [[Aschau im Chiemgau]], Bavaria.