The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1096 have begun a project that hopefully will see local Medal of Honor recipient Lt. Garlin Murl Conner forever remembered, that being in the form of having a stretch of highway named in his honor.

The VFW Post, in a document dated May 10, 2019, has a proposal on the table that would name a stretch of the new 127 Bypass the Lt. Garlin Murl Conner Highway.

Post members presented the proposal to the Albany City Council at that governing body’s most recent meeting last Tuesday, July 2 and the council, on a motion by Tony Delk, voted 5-0 in favor of a resolution in support of the proposal.

Members will apparently be making a similar request to the county’s governing body, possibly later this month. They noted the proposal would be presented to the Kentucky Department of Transportation, which would have final say, for consideration.

They also noted that proposal would have a better chance of being approved with a lot of local support.

The proposal presented to council members included, among other items, Lt. Conner’s military history, including all his badges and medals of achievement, and a reading of his Distinguished Service Cross citation dated February 10, 1945.

The document also includes a map showing the location of where the highway in his honor would be located.

The summary reads:

To Whom It May Concern –

The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1096, was established on November 24, 1945. There are 69 names on our original charter, with one of those names belonging to Garlin Murl Conner. Lt. Conner was discharged from the United States Army on June 22, 1945, and the local VFW was started five months later.

The VFW Post 1096 is located in Albany, Kentucky and is an organization that exists to assist local veterans and to better our community.

The purpose of this proposal, is to seek the naming of HWY 127 South, in honor of Lt. Garlin Murl Conner. Lt. Conner was recently posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery during Operation Grandslam in Houssen, France, January 24, 1945.

The section of highway is approximately 11 miles long and stretches from the intersection of KY HWY 90 and US HWY 127 south to the Kentucky/Tennessee state line.

The VFW members and our community feel that by naming this portion of US HWY 127 in honor of Lt. Garlin Murl Conner, would serve to preserve his name and be an honorable tribute to the sacrifices and hardships that Lt. Conner endured.

Conner was born on June 2, 1919 in the Aaron community of Clinton County, one of 11 children and along with four brothers all served during World War II.

He entered the military on March 1, 1941.

In March 1945, Conner returned to the U.S. and was honorably discharged June 22, 1945. He was honored at an event in Albany in May of that year at which Alvin C. York of nearby Pall Mall, Tennessee, the most noted Medal of Honor winner of World War I, was a speaker.

Conner spent the rest of his years farming in southeast Clinton County and was active in various veteran’s organizations, and traveled to nearby counties to assist veterans and their dependents with claims for benefits due them as a result of military service.

Conner was a 1st Lieutenant in the Second World War and was attached to K Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, four Silver Stars, three Purple Hearts, and the French Croix de guerre for his heroic actions.

Conner’s Distinguished Service Cross was upgraded to the Congressional Medal of Honor in 2018, 20 years after his passing.

The Medal of Honor was presented to his widow, Pauline Conner, by President Donald Trump.