WASHINGTON -- President Donald J. Trump announced Thursday that he will award the Medal of Honor posthumously to 1st Lt. Garlin M. Conner at a White House ceremony.
The award, which is for conspicuous gallantry and selfless service during World War II, will be presented to Conner's spouse, Pauline Lyda Wells Conner. The ceremony date will be announced later, according to a White House press release.
Conner's valorous actions occurred Jan. 24, 1945, while serving as an intelligence officer with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3d Infantry Division.
Conner voluntarily left his position of relative safety to place himself in a better position to direct artillery fire onto the assaulting enemy infantry and armor, according to the announcement.
For three hours he remained in an exposed and dangerous position 30 yards ahead of the defending force, directing artillery fire, despite the enemy closing within five yards of his position. His actions, according to the announcement, repelled the enemy forces.
After enlisting in the Army March 1, 1941, Conner was sent to Fort Lewis, Washington, for training.
He then deployed with the 3rd Infantry Division to the North African theater of operations on Oct. 23, 1942 and was part of the amphibious assault on Fedala, French Morocco, Nov. 8, 1942. He continued combat operations throughout North Africa, prior to landing on Sicily, and subsequently the Italian mainland during the push into Europe.
On June 26, 1944, he received a battlefield commission as an infantry officer after attaining the rank of technical sergeant and having served as a platoon sergeant.
As a lieutenant, he served as a commander and intelligence staff officer with the same unit he was with during his valorous actions that led to his nomination to receive the Medal of Honor.
Conner, a native of Kentucky, was discharged from the Army on June 22, 1945, shortly after Victory in Europe Day, May 8.
Conner died in Albany, Kentucky Nov. 5, 1998 at age 79, according to The Courier-Journal newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky.
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