Connor, Garlin Murl, born born on 02-06-1919 on Indian Creek, 
a tributary of the Cumberland River in Clinton County, served by the Aaron, Kentucky post office. His parents were Lee Arthur “Aught” Conner (1881–1961) and his wife Tana Moore, born Pierce, Conner (1893–1968) 
Garlin was the third child of 11 brothers and sisters. Zela Irene Conner Van Braun (1915–1990), Arthur Clayron Conner (1916–1994), Vida Pearl Conner Cooksey (1921–2001), sergeant Kenneth Fred Conner (1923–1964), private Chester Conner (1925–1991), Cordell F. Conner (1928–1995), Thelma M Conner McWhorter (1931–2018), Carl Allen Conner (1933–2002) and Jimmy Dean Conner (1936–2014). Garlin and four of his brothers served during World War II. He stood at 5 ft 6 in (168 cm).
Garlin was married to Lyda Pauline, born Wells Conner (1929–2024 (09-07-1945) 
Conner, who was generally known by his middle name, which he originally spelled “Merle,” was a selectee for the military and entered the U.S. Army 
on 01-03-1941 in Louisville, Kentucky. “Merle completed his basic training at Fort Lewis, Washington where he became a member of K Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. 
under command of Brigadier General Charles Philipp Hall. 
After training with his division at Fort Lewis, he was sent with the 3rd Infantry Division to Camp Ord, California and Fort Pickett, Virginia for further combat training.
On 23-10-1942, Conner and his division departed the United States from Norfolk, Virginia, to fight in the European-African-Middle Eastern theater of operations arriving on 8 November for the invasion of French North Africa. He participated in four amphibious assault landings and eight campaigns including the Anzio Campaign in Italy 
during which he earned his second Silver Star (Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster). He was promoted to technical sergeant on 13 January 1944. He was commissioned a second lieutenant on 28 June 1944.[5][8] On 29 December 1944, he was promoted to first lieutenant.
Conner was awarded four Silver Stars 
for gallantry in action: in October 1943, 30 January 1944, 11 September 1944, and 3 February 1945. He was also awarded the Bronze Star Medal, 
and at least three Purple Hearts 
for being wounded in action on 06-03-1944, in August, and in September 1944. He said he was wounded seven times, but the number of Purple Hearts cannot be confirmed because his military records were destroyed in a fire at the St. Louis records center in 1973. Garlin was presented the Distinguished Service Cross 
from Lieutenant General Alexander “Sandy” Patch,
the Commander of the Seventh Army, 
for extraordinary heroism during a German counterattack with six tanks and 600 infantrymen on 24-01-1945, near Houssen, France. Recently returned to his unit from the hospital, intelligence staff officer Lieutenant. Conner volunteered to go forward to direct artillery fire against the German counterattack. The enemy got so close that Lieutenant Conner had to call artillery fire directly on his own position, leading to the death of more than 50 Germans and stopping the assault.
In March 1945, Conner was sent back to the U.S. and was honorably discharged on 22-06-1945. He was honored in an event in Albany, Kentucky in May 1945, at which Alvin Cullum York 
of nearby Pall Mall, Tennessee, the most noted Medal of Honor 
winner of World War I, was a speaker.
After the war, the Conners lived on Indian Creek several miles north of Albany, near the Cumberland River, in a home with no electricity or running water, on a farm worked with mules and horses. In 1950 the U.S. government bought their property for the impoundment of Lake Cumberland and they moved to the Rolan community in southeastern Clinton County, Kentucky. They had one son, Paul, one grandson, and three granddaughters. Conner continued farming and was president of the Clinton County Farm Bureau 
for 17 years. He was active in various veterans’ organizations including the Paralyzed Veterans of America and the Disabled American Veterans, 
and traveled to many nearby counties for the Kentucky Disabled Ex-Servicemen’s Board to assist veterans and their dependents with claims for benefits due them as a result of military service. He was handicapped from his war wounds, heart disease and Parkinson’s Disease.
Conner passed away 05-11-1998 (aged 79), in Albany, Kentucky, United States, and was buried in Memorial Hill Cemetery in Albany. 1013 N Cross St, Albany, KY 42602, United States. In 2012, the U.S. Army honored him by designating a portion of a new maintenance facility at Fort Benning, Georgia as Conner Hall.
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