History Stories
This page contains stories from the history of the Salt Lake City VA Medical Center.
Hero Turned Namesake: George Wahlen
Hero Turned Namesake: George Wahlen
Federal buildings are often named to memorialize deceased individuals valued in the community for their exemplary civil service. The same is true for the VA medical center in Salt Lake City, except George Wahlen was still very much alive in 2004 when the facility was renamed.
To be fair, George Wahlen was not your average Veteran.
George was born in Ogden, Utah in 1924 and had an interest in aircraft mechanics. In 1943, only 19 and hoping to volunteer as a mechanic, he enlisted in the U. S. Naval Reserve. However, with World War II in full swing, aircraft mechanics were in low demand. Instead, there was a great need for hospital corpsmen, so a surprised George reported to San Diego for medical training.
Wahlen excelled in his studies and by 1944 was a pharmacist’s mate second class. In February 1945, deployed to the Battle of Iwo Jima as a corpsman, he didn’t expect to see action. But the fighting was brutal and casualties high. It was there he earned his Medal of Honor.
Though wounded twice by grenades, Wahlen continued to treat his injured comrades. At one point, an enemy soldier lobbing grenades from a foxhole prevented Wahlen and a Marine he was assisting from escaping their position. Wahlen maneuvered up the hill, dodging grenades, and neutralized the enemy. Wahlen was injured a third and final time when an artillery mortar hit his leg, mangling it. He bandaged his leg, gave himself morphine for the pain and then crawled 50 yards to help the next Marine.
Wahlen was one of four pharmacist’s mates awarded the Medal of Honor for their heroics during the 36-day battle at Iwo Jima. It took months to heal from his injuries and he was honorably discharged in December 1945. However, his service was far from over. Missing the military community, Wahlen joined the U.S. Army as a medical technician in 1948.
In 1969, Major Wahlen retired, having served in Korea and Vietnam. In addition to his medal of honor, he earned the Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts.
After the military, Wahlen served with VA until 1983, in the Veterans Benefits Administration. He died in 2009 at the age of 84, and his legacy lives on throughout the Salt Lake City and Ogden communities.
Today, the George E. Wahlen VA Medical Center is a major part of VA Salt Lake City Healthcare System, which includes 10 community-based outreach clinics and serves 70,000 Veterans in Utah, Idaho and Nevada.
To learn more about the George E. Wahlen VA Medical Center, visit www.va.gov/salt-lake-city-health-care/