A Joyous Day for Pauline

Pauline Conner accepted the Medal of Honor from President Donald Trump on behalf of her late husband, 1st Lt. Garlin Murl Conner, on June 26, 2018 at a White House ceremony in Washington, D.C. After the 89-year-old Pauline rose from her wheelchair to give the President a hug and a kiss on the cheek before receiving the award, a beaming Trump said, "I like her."

It was a joyous day in the East Room for Pauline, who had fought to attain the medal for her husband for 22 years. "If he were present, Murl would feel highly honored," Pauline told Pentagon reporters. "I just wish he was here to get it," she said. Of her husband, who died at age 79 in 1998, Pauline said "my husband was a very humble man. He was my hero for 53 years."

When the news came that Murl was being awarded the MOH, Pauline thought it was a scam, but she gathered family members to her home to be by her side in case that call did come and it was real. After two decades of trying, Pauline had almost given up on Murl receiving the MOH. So when her phone rang in the spring of 2018 and the voice on the line belonged to Trump — who told her he had read her late husband's impressive file and intended to award him the Medal of Honor — she said, “You gotta be kidding.” But he wasn’t kidding. In fact, he called Murl an “incredible hero” who had finally taken his rightful place in the eternal chronicle of American valor. "You sound just like an old country girl," President Donald Trump told her after confirming what she had been waiting so many years to hear. "Tell that beautiful wife of yours to give you a big hug and kiss," she told the President.

At the Pentagon, Pauline's eyes welled up with tears as she spoke before a large audience at 1st Lt. Conner's induction into the Hall of Heroes. With her son, Paul, looking on with her four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, she said "We did it Murl," her voice quivering. "No more regrets." It was the most touching moment of the entire trip.

When Murl returned to Albany in the summer of 1945, a 15-year old Pauline was in the crowd that gathered to celebrate their war hero. Even the great Sgt. Alvin York himself, the Medal of Honor recipient from WWI, had shown up for the "speakin'. Pauline wasn't quite sure which one he was but she had read stories about him in the newspaper and wanted to meet him. She didn't think much of the scrawny fellow they were making all the fuss about with a parade and the speeches. "I was expecting a giant of a man," she said. But Murl was maybe 5-foot-6 and about 120 pounds at the time. She turned to her mother and said, "My God, Mama, that little guy couldn't have done all of what they said he'd done. All of what they said he had done included earning the Distinguished Service Cross, four Silver Star's, three purple hearts and a battlefield promotion from tech sergeant to first lieutenant.

One year later, they were married. "Our beautiful life together was simple," she said. "Our calling was having a family, building a home and a farm; and helping family and friends -- especially veterans who returned home with hardships. With the help of Pauline, Murl had found a way to still serve others by volunteering to help other veterans with benefits. He would do the interviews and she did the paperwork Even after he died in 1998, Pauline kept on doing it until she no longer was able.

By the way, the documentary, "From Honor to Medal: The Story of Garlin M. Conner," which was originally released in 2020 and tells Murl's story as one of the most decorated soldiers in American military history, will be shown on May 27th at 7pm and May 29th at 12:30am and 3am on KET. Albany native and UK School of Journalism and Media Professor Al Cross was the executive producer.

A Bill Creating Clinton County, Kentucky was Signed into Law on this Day in 1836

Clinton County, Kentucky was formed from parts of Cumberland and Wayne counties in a bill co-sponsored by Senator's Ambrose Bramlette of Clinton County, who was serving his first term, and Frank Winfrey of Columbia. The General Assembly passed the bill in 1835, and it was signed into law by Gov. James Morehead on February 20, 1836.

The first government was organized on April 1, 1836 at the home of Pleasant Williams, later the home of the Alford Frank Burchett, on Kentucky Highway 639 at Wago, where I grew up, and you know the rest of the story about how the first county seat was established at Peolia, then later moved to the present site originally known as Benny Dowell’s Place.

THE BILL

"...to wit beginning at the state line due North from the mouth of Wolf River, and thence a straight line to the plantation of Alexander Smith, including it, thence a straight line to the mouth of Tear Coat Creek on Cumberland River, thence up said river to the Russell County line, thence with said line to within a half mile of Beaver Creek, up Beaver Creek to the mouth of Otter Creek, thence up Otter Creek so as not to run nearer than within one half mile of said creek to Jacob Citt’s, leaving him in Wayne County, thence to the twelve mile post on the road that leads from Monticello to Stockton Valley: thence to the Poplar Mountain at Peter Stockton’s, leaving him in the new county, thence up said mountain to the top; thence with the top of said mountain to the state line; thence with the same at the beginning, shall be erected into one separate county known as the County of Clinton."

Nearly all histories written about us say the county was named after Dewitt Clinton, the distinguished governor of New York who died in 1928. A second story tells us that Frank Winfrey had a son named Clinton. He was born the year Dewitt Clinton died. Perhaps the two namesakes combined made for a stronger reason to name it Clinton County and we should leave it at that. Clinton Winfrey was the owner of Winfrey Hotel in Columbia, the site of a cholera epidemic in 1873 that resulted in the deaths of 42 people, including Clinton and two of his children.

Sgt. York was a Symbol of American Courage and Sacrifice

On this day in 1918, then Cpl. Alvin C. York and sixteen other soldiers under the command of Sergeant Bernard Early were dispatched before sunrise to take command of the Decauville railroad behind Hill 223 in the Chatel-Chehery area of the Meuse-Argonne sector in Northeast France.

The seventeen men, due to a misreading of their map (which was in French not English) mistakenly wound up behind enemy lines. A brief fire fight ensued which resulted in the confusion and the unexpected surrender of a superior German force to the seventeen soldiers. Once the Germans realized that the American contingent was limited, machine gunners on the hill overlooking the scene turned the gun away from the front and toward their own troops.

After ordering the German soldiers to lie down, the machine gun opened fire resulting in the deaths of nine Americans, including York's best friend in the outfit, Murray Savage. Sergeant Early received seventeen bullet wounds and turned the command over to corporals Harry Parsons and William Cutting, who ordered York to silence the machine gun.

Fearlessly leading the seven remaining soldiers, York charged with great daring a machine gun nest which was pouring deadly and incessant fire upon his platoon. When the smoke cleared, he had taken the machine gun nest, killing twenty and singlehandedly capturing 132 German soldiers, including four officers, and several guns.

Alvin York's actions that day are recognized as one of the most significant combat feats by a single Soldier during WWI. For his exceptional heroism in the face of danger, he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Lauded by The New York Times as “the war’s biggest hero," upon his death in 1964, President Lyndon Johnson called him alvin“a symbol of American courage and sacrifice” who epitomized the gallantry of American fighting men and their sacrifices on behalf of freedom.”

For an in-depth look into the heroics of Sgt. Alvin C. York visit:

Alvin C. York and the Meuse Argonne Offensive

To read about Sgt. York's struggle with being a soldier and having to fight in a war and how he finally found peace in it, go to:

How To Wrestle with a Difficult D,ecision - Advice From Sergeant Alvin C. York

Medal of Honor Recipient: Oliver Hughes

Harry Truman once declared he’d rather have a Medal of Honor than be president. The area i live in is blessed to have had three Medal of Honor recipients so far: Sgt. Alvin C. York during WWI, Lt. Murl Conner during WWII and Cpl. Oliver Hughes during the Civil War.

Most people may not know about the heroics of Cpl. Hughes. The first soldier from this area to receive the citation, he was born in Fentress County, TN in 1844 and lived in the Static area, close to where Conner lived and not far from York's place at Pall Mall, TN. Cpl. Hughes was awarded the Medal of Honor for an act of extraordinary heroism which he performed on February 20, 1865, while serving with the Union army's 12th Kentucky Infantry at Town Creek, North Carolina.

The Union army had came up on Confederate lines along the road from Wilmington to Fort Fisher. Finding themselves in a comparatively open country with only a few pine trees, the federal troops were exposed to a merciless fire from the rebel artillery. Seeing that desperate measures were necessary, Lieutenant-Colonel L.H. Rassieur ordered an attack on the rebel lines. When it began, Cpl. Hughes saw the color-sergeant carrying the flag of the 11th South Carolina Infantry Regiment. The flag, in those days, was used to signal advances and retreats. Determined to capture it, he made a rush toward the color-sergeant, who retreated to within a short distance of his company. Still, Hughes persisted and within 3 feet of the mouth of one of their cannon, killed him and captured the colors. In the disray, the union was able to counter because with the Confederate flag gone so were the communications it provided.

Cpl. Hughes saved thousands of lives that day Town Creek, North Carolina. After the war, he returned home to farm, but a few years later moved to Macon County, Missouri. He died there in 1911 at the age of 69.

The flag of the 11th South Carolina regiment was returned by the U.S. War Department to the state of South Carolina on March 25, 1905.