While most public ceremonies and even informal gatherings for Memorial Day have been canceled or restricted in size this year because of the novel coronavirus, special programming on Kentucky Educational Television provides another way to remember the sacrifices of American military service members.
At 7 p.m. (Central Time) Monday, KET will show “From Honor to Medal: The Story of Garlin M. Conner,” the story of one of the most decorated soldiers of World War II who received the nation’s highest military award, the Medal of Honor, only after a 20-year campaign by his widow and friends. Al Cross, director of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues at the University of Kentucky, was executive producer for the film. Cross grew up in Clinton County, where he knew Conner as a farmer and veteran.
In addition to KET’s broadcast schedule on Monday, it also features 11 on-demand programs on its website that feature stories of Kentuckians who served the country during WWII, the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam War.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
