Army 2nd Lieutenant James Glen Conner was born in Camden, Alabama on October 26, 1922, the son of James Cook Conner (1878-1926) and Corrine Mercy Mackey (1884-1968). His father supported his family as a train conductor for the L&N railroad for 31 years up until his death in 1926. The family home was located at 316 East Gadsden Street where both of Glen's parents would pass away.
Glen would graduate from Pensacola High School in the Class of 1940 where he played football on the '38 and '39 teams, basketball in '40, and was Class President in '39. He was a honor student and an active member of the school's Glee Club. After graduation, Glen enrolled in the University of Florida where again he participated in their Glee Club and enlisted in the ROTC program. However, at the end of his junior year, he was called to active duty in 1943. He was assigned to an artillery command and received training at Ft. Bragg, NC where he rose to the rank of corporal before being sent to OCS at Ft. Sill, OK.
Glen was sent overseas in November 1944 and assigned to the 384th Field Artillery Battalion with the 103rd Infantry Division as a forward observer. His unit was comprised of the huge 155-mm howitzers that took a crew of 14 men with a range of almost 15 miles. His division crossed the Moder and Zintzel rivers in March 1945 and captured the German town of Muehlhausen after a fierce fight. Then they crossed the Lauter River and attacked the defenses of the Siegfried Line. The retreating Germans fell back in complete disorder as the division moved into the Upper Rhine Valley. They were given occupational duties until April 20th which gave them somewhat of a respite. As the Germans fell back, the 103rd was ordered to pursue them into Stuttgart and Munsingen.
On April 23, 1945, Glen was flying on a combat observation mission for his battalion when his plane was hit by shellfire and he was killed instantly just fourteen days before Germany surrendered! His body was recovered and taken to a military cemetery in Benshein, Germany and buried. The details of his death were put in a letter from Lt. Colonel James F. Roberts, the commanding officer of the field artillery group. His remains were brought home per request of his family in 1949 and buried in the Gonzalez Methodist Church Cemetery (Old Roberts) in Gonzalez, Escambia County, Florida.
Pensacola News Journal 5-13-1945
Yorumlar