John Boyd died of cancer on March 9, 1997, at age 70. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. Grant T. Hammond, a professor at the Air War College who had studied Boyd's work extensively, delivered the eulogy. The funeral was attended by a small group of acolytes, fellow reformers, and Marine officers who recognized what the broader military establishment did not: that Boyd had been one of the most original strategic thinkers in American military history. Boyd died having never written a book, never held a position of institutional power, and never received the recognition that his contributions merited. His ideas, spread through personal briefings and the work of his acolytes, would continue to grow in influence after his death — particularly through Robert Coram's 2002 biography, Grant Hammond's academic work, and Chet Richards' business strategy applications.