Garlin Murl Conner
First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Medal of Honor Recipient, World War II

Medals, Awards & Badges

Medal of Honor
Silver Star Medal with 3 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters
Bronze Star Medal with Combat Valor Device and 3 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters
Purple Heart with 1 Silver and 1 Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster
Army Good Conduct Medal
American Campaign Medal
European, African, Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with Arrowhead Pin and 2 Silver Stars
World War II Victory Medal
Croix de Guerre with Palm (France)
Presidential Unit Citation with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster
Combat Infantryman Badge

Medal of Honor Citation

On 24 January 1945 at 0800 hours, while serving with 3d Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3d Infantry Division near Houssen, France, 1LT Garlin Murl Conner ran 400 yards, through the impact area of an intense concentration of enemy artillery fire, to direct friendly artillery on a force of six Mark VI tanks and tank destroyers, followed by 600 fanatical German infantrymen, which was assaulting in full fury the spearhead position held by his battalion. Along the way, he unreeled a spool of telephone wire, disregarded shells which exploded 25 yards from him and set up an observation post which he manned for more than three hours during the intense fighting. He was individually credited with stopping more than 150 Germans, destroying all the tanks and completely disintegrating the powerful enemy assault force and preventing heavy loss of life in his own outfit. First Lieutenant Conner's intrepid actions, personal bravery and zealous devotion to duty exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States and reflect great credit upon himself, the 3d Infantry Division, and the United States Army.

General Orders: Headquarters, Seventh U.S. Army, General Orders No. 47 (1945) Action Date: 24-Jan-45

Honors

In 2001, the Army named Eagle Base in Bosnia-Herzegovina after 1st Lieutenant Conner.

Remarks by Commanding Officers

Then-LTC Lloyd B. Ramsey (Major General, Ret.) [Honoree Record ID 229152] commanding 3rd Battalion, 3rd Division, 7th Infantry, 7th Army, LTG Alexander M. Patch commanding, wrote this in a letter to his father, W. H. Ramsey:

"I just sent one of my officers home. He was my S-2 (Intelligence Officer), Lt. Garlin M. Conner, who is from Aaron, Kentucky. I'm really proud of Lt. Conner. He probably will call you and, if he does, he may not sound like a soldier, will sound like any good old country boy, but, to my way of seeing, he's one of the outstanding soldiers of this war, if not the outstanding. He was a Sergeant until July and now is a First Lieutenant. He has the D.S.C., which could have been, I believe, a Congressional Medal of Honor but, he was heading home and we wanted to get him what he deserved before he left. He has a Silver Star with 4 clusters, a Bronze Star, Purple Heart with 6 clusters and is in for a French medal. On this last push, within two weeks he earned the D.S.C., a cluster to his Silver Star and a Bronze Star. I've never seen a man with as much courage and ability as he has. I usually don't brag much on my officers but, this is one officer nobody could brag enough about and do him justice; he's a real soldier."

Death and Burial

First Lieutenant Garlin Murl Conner died on 5 November 1998. He is buried at Memorial Hill Cemetery in Albany, Clinton County, KY.

Special Note: On Tuesday, 26 June 2018, President Donald Trump posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor to First Lieutenant Garlin Murl Conner for gallantry shown as an Army intelligence officer during the final months of the war. He was previously awarded the DSC for that action. Many people worked very hard on getting the DSC upgraded to the MOH.