He attended Salesianum School in Wilmington, graduating as part of the Class of 1957 before enrolling in the Annapolis Naval Academy.

According to his Class' Lucky Bag, Connell was active in the Annapolis Foreign Relations Club and was interested in the field of criminal law.

[4] During the attack, the flight encountered heavy anti-aircraft fire; pulling away from the first target, one pilot reported seeing a chute, indicating a Skyhawk had been shot down.

Acting upon the testimony of his fellow POWs, Connell was posthumously promoted to Lieutenant-commander and awarded the Navy Cross for valor.

[3] Despite his status as a highly decorated casualty of war, multiple sources have commented[1][3] on Connell's relative obscurity in his home state of Delaware.

[5] In attendance at the ceremony were US senators Chris Coons, Tom Carper, and retired Air Force Colonel Murphy Neal Jones, whom had himself been held as a POW in Vietnam and had heard of Connell's story.

[1][3] He is also commemorated on the USNA Virtual Memorial Hall, a project documenting the lives of various graduates of Annapolis Naval Academy.