Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor to a member of the greatest generation, then-1st Lt. Garlin Murl Conner, US Army, for conspicuous gallantry during World War II.

Conner served as an intelligence officer and was honored more than 70 years later for his actions on January 24, 1945, when he "voluntarily left his position of relative safety to place himself in a better position to direct artillery fire onto the assaulting enemy infantry and armor," per a White House statement.

Conner died 20 years ago Tuesday, but his wife, Pauline, son Paul and multiple grandchildren and great-grandchildren attended the ceremony, as well as two previous Medal of Honor recipients.

While serving in France in January 1945, Conner was hospitalized for a hip wound, one of many injuries he incurred since his 1941 enlistment.

"He snuck out of the hospital and he made his way back to his unit," Trump said. "His doctors, his nurses, were not happy."

Read More