June 26 (UPI) — President Donald Trump is scheduled to award a posthumous Medal of Honor Tuesday to a Kentucky World War II veteran’s widow.
The president is set to give the medal to Pauline Conner, the widow of Army First Lt. Garlin M. Conner, at 3:30 p.m. EDT in the East Room of the White House.
Garlin Conner was a member of the 3rd Infantry Division’s 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment and spent 28 months of the front lines of various campaigns in the war. He was injured seven times and awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, four Silver Stars, the French Croix de Guerre, a Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts for his service.
He is being awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during a battle on Jan. 24, 1945, when he volunteered to run to the front lines as a spotter, the Department of Defense said. Running telephone line to provide communication with the infantry, he hid in a shallow ditch and directed U.S. troops to fire on German infantry mere yards from his position.
Historian Erik Villard of the Center for Military History said in a press briefing Monday that Conner put his life on the line to guide U.S. soldiers against a force of 600 German troops attempting to advance on the Americans.
Conner died 20 years ago at the age of 79.
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