Eugene Joseph Conner

Gene Joseph Conner grew up in the small community of Cumberland in Cass County. He entered the Army with the intent to make it a career and was trained in the artillery. In the 1960s he taught in the Army ROTC Program at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. He deployed to Vietnam in July 1967 and became part of Advisory Team 100 based in Saigon working with South Vietnamese troops. During the TET Offensive in January Major Conner learned of an ambush of 20 soldiers who were pinned down in an alley. He personally led a rescue mission to remove the wounded while under heavy fire. The Major then, with one other soldier, led an attack to dislodge the enemy from their fortified position. He was killed by a Vietcong rocket. For his extraordinary heroism, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. He was buried in Hattiesburg, Mississippi where he lived with his wife and three children.