George Edward Wahlen

Three times wounded on Iwo Jima, George Edward Wahlen kept moving toward the wounded when survival demanded that he move away from the fighting. Under intense Japanese mortar, rifle and machine-gun fire, the young Navy corpsman repeatedly crossed exposed ground to reach injured Marines. After suffering his third wound, he treated himself and then crawled roughly 50 yards to aid another wounded man. His extraordinary actions during the Battle of Iwo Jima earned him the Medal of Honor and established Wahlen as one of the most distinguished combat medical personnel of the Second World War.

Born in Utah on August 8, 1924, Wahlen enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve on June 11, 1943. Trained as a hospital corpsman and ultimately advanced to Pharmacist's Mate Second Class, he joined 2nd Battalion, 26th Marines, 5th Marine Division in 1944. Although a sailor, Wahlen served alongside Marines as their battlefield medical specialist. His unit landed on Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945, beginning the campaign that would define his place in American military history.

Wahlen was first seriously wounded on February 26, yet remained on the battlefield and continued treating casualties. When another platoon was hit heavily, he entered the fire-swept area and treated 14 wounded men before returning to his own platoon. He was wounded again on March 2 but refused evacuation. On March 3, after being wounded for a third time, he bound his own injury and crawled to the aid of another Marine. The official Medal of Honor citation praised his gallantry, fearlessness and determination to care for others despite his own wounds. President Harry S. Truman presented Wahlen with the Medal of Honor at the White House on October 5, 1945.

His heroism at Iwo Jima brought still more recognition. In September 1945, Wahlen received the Navy Cross and a Gold Star in lieu of a second Navy Cross, confirming two awards of the Navy Cross for his wartime service. He also received three Purple Hearts, corresponding to the three wounds he suffered during the Iwo Jima campaign. His World War II honours also included the Presidential Unit Citation, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal and World War II Victory Medal.

Wahlen was discharged from the Navy in December 1945, but his military career was far from over. He enlisted in the United States Army in November 1948 and built a second career in military medicine and administration. During the Korean War era, orders that would have sent him to Korea were changed at the last moment, sending him instead to Tokyo. He therefore should not be described as a Korean War combat veteran. Wahlen later received an actual assignment to South Korea in February 1963, serving as adjutant and personnel officer with the 168th Medical Battalion. After years of enlisted Army service, he was commissioned in the Medical Service Corps in 1959 and eventually rose to the rank of major in November 1966.

His final overseas combat-zone assignment brought him to Vietnam, where he served at Long Binh near Saigon shortly before the Tet Offensive. As assistant personnel officer in the surgeon's office, Wahlen was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service in ground operations against hostile forces. Importantly, the Bronze Star was for meritorious service and was not documented as a valor award. His three Purple Hearts belonged to his Iwo Jima service, not Vietnam. Wahlen's Vietnam tour ended in May 1968, and he retired from the U.S. Army as a major on August 11, 1969, completing more than two decades of service across the Navy and Army.

Retirement did not end Wahlen's service to veterans. Beginning in 1971, he worked for the Veterans Administration, helping former service members use educational benefits and later assisting disabled veterans with housing. He also championed major veterans' projects in Utah. His advocacy helped lead to the establishment of the Utah Veterans Cemetery and Memorial Park, while the George E. Wahlen Ogden Veterans Home opened in 1998. Roy, Utah, had already renamed a park George Wahlen North Park in his honor in 1989.

One of the most unusual tributes came while Wahlen was still alive. In 2004, President George W. Bush signed legislation authorizing the Salt Lake City VA Medical Center to bear Wahlen's name, an exceptional distinction for a living veteran. The George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center was formally rededicated on November 10, 2004. Congressional records show that the proposal received broad support from Utah veterans' organizations, which recognized not only Wahlen's Medal of Honor but also decades of advocacy on behalf of fellow veterans.

George E. Wahlen died in Salt Lake City on June 5, 2009, at the age of 84. His legacy reaches beyond the Medal of Honor that made his name nationally known. From the volcanic battlefield of Iwo Jima to an Army career that carried him through Japan, Korea and Vietnam, and finally to decades spent fighting for veterans at home, Wahlen repeatedly returned to the same mission that had defined him as a young corpsman: helping other service members when they needed someone most.