[2] Conner was born on 2 June 1919 on Indian Creek, a tributary of the Cumberland River in Clinton County, served by the Aaron, Kentucky post office.

On 23 October 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 was presented the Distinguished Service Cross from Lieutenant General Alexander Patch, the Commander of the Seventh Army, for extraordinary heroism during a German counterattack with six tanks and 600 infantrymen on 24 January 1945, near Houssen, France.

[10] 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.

[12] Conner's military decorations and awards: In 1996, Army veteran Richard Chilton of Genoa City, Wis., was gathering information about the World War II service of his uncle, Pfc.

[19] His campaign was picked up by Walton R. "Chip" Haddix of Albany, Ky., who had known Conner for many years but knew nothing of his Army record until 2000, when Louisville Courier-Journal columnist Byron Crawford wrote about Chilton's efforts.

Early on 24 January 1945, Ramsey needed a volunteer for a dangerous and life-threatening mission: act as a forward observer to direct artillery fire to stop a German attack that was threatening to overrun their position.

They ran 300 to 400 yards and Conner made it to a shallow irrigation ditch, where he stayed in contact with his unit for three hours in near-zero-degree weather as a ferocious onslaught of German tanks and infantry bore down on him.

'"[10] The request meant Conner was calling for artillery strikes as he was being overrun, risking his life in order to draw friendly fire that would take out the enemy, too,[10] during which time he directed his men for three hours by telephone.

[10] To ensure that the Army promptly implemented the correction board's recommendation, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 included an amendment waiving the time limit to award the Medal of Honor to Conner for his 24 January 1945 actions.

Lieutenant Conner, having recently returned to his unit after recovering from a wound received in an earlier battle, was working as the Intelligence Officer in the 3d Battalion Command Post at the time of the attack.

With complete disregard for his own safety, Lieutenant Conner maneuvered 400 yards through enemy artillery fire that destroyed trees in his path and rained shrapnel all around him, while unrolling telephone wire needed to communicate with the Battalion command post.

As German infantry regrouped and began to mass in an overwhelming assault, Lieutenant Conner ordered friendly artillery to concentrate directly on his own position, having resolved to die if necessary to destroy the enemy advance.

The artillery he expertly directed, while under constant enemy fire, killed approximately fifty German soldiers and wounded an estimated one hundred more, preventing what would have undoubtedly been heavy friendly casualties.