Wounded Bend veteran receives overdue Purple Heart
A Bend veteran of the war in Afghanistan was presented with his overdue Purple Heart on Thursday by Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., at the congressman’s office in downtown Bend.
Army veteran Chris Dahlen was honored with the Purple Heart for wounds suffered in combat while serving in Afghanistan in 2010.
The Purple Heart is the oldest military decoration. It was first awarded in 1782 and is the first award available to all ranks in the military. The decoration is presented to U.S. military members wounded or killed while serving their country.
Walden said this was his first time presenting the Purple Heart, and he said Dahlen was well-deserving of the honor.
Dahlen was one of 78 soldiers wounded when their platoon was hit by an improvised explosive device.
“I was in my room Skyping (with) my wife, and when it detonated, everybody’s buildings collapsed on them,” Dahlen said.
The Army estimated the men were hit by 5,000 pounds of explosives. All 78 of the men were flown to the hospital at Bagram Airfield.
As soon as he was well enough, Dahlen convinced doctors to let him return to his unit.
“It’s a brotherhood,” he said. “I’m not going to leave. I would have felt guilty if I went home and the other men kept fighting.”
Six years later, heroic Dahlen was recognized publicly with a Purple Heart, his smiling wife at his side, holding a flag that had flown over the U.S. Capitol.
“It’s just a great honor and privilege to present him with this award that he should have received years ago,” Walden said.
Due to a misspelling of his name in his paperwork, Dahlen never received the award when he returned from the war in 2011. Once Walden’s office became aware of the mishap, they made sure he was recognized properly.
Now that Dahlen is out of the Army, he hopes to continue helping others by working as a firefighting pilot.
Dahlen said he still keeps in touch with the other soldiers that were injured in the explosion. He said he talks to each one on a monthly, if not daily basis.
