Medal of Honor Recipients Monument

This granite stone is cut in the shape of Utah, and it carries the six Medal of Honor recipients the state claims — a list shorter than you'd expect, because the nation's highest military decoration is given sparingly and often posthumously. Five earned it in the Second World War, from Pearl Harbor to Iwo Jima; Brian Thacker earned it in Vietnam. When the stone was dedicated in June 2004, George Wahlen, the Iwo Jima corpsman on its list, saluted it. It keeps the names where a walker in the park will come upon them.

What the plaque says

Honoring Utah's Medal of Honor Recipients Bennion, Mervyn Sharp - USN W W II - 7 Dec. 1941 - Pearl Harbor Hall, William E. - USNR W W II - 8 May 1942 - Coral Sea Sakato, George T. - USA W W II - 29 Oct. 1944 - Biffontaine, France Valdez, Jose F. - USA W W II - 25 Jan. 1945 - Rosenkrantz, France Wahlen, George Edward - USN W W II - 3 Mar. 1945 - Iwo Jima Thacker, Brian Miles - USA Vietnam - 31 Mar. 1971 - Kontum Province, Vietnam Donated by Utah Military & Veterans Affairs Committee

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Salt Lake City — 0.5 mi
  Utah's capital and largest city — where the Wasatch Range meets the Great Salt Lake.
• Temple Square — 0.6 mi
  The spiritual and architectural heart of Salt Lake City
• Ensign Peak — 0.9 mi
  A short hike to the spot where Brigham Young surveyed the valley
• Liberty Park — 2.3 mi
  Salt Lake Citys beloved 80-acre urban park since 1882

More markers nearby

• Korean War Wall of Honor — steps away
• Pearl Harbor Memorial — steps away
• Utah World War I Pagoda Memorial — steps away
• Liberty Bell Tower (3) Markers — steps away