Medal of Honor recipient dies at 90 WWII veteran decorated by Truman lived year-round in Maine

CARIBOU – Edward Dahlgren, a World War II veteran who received the Medal of Honor for spearheading the rescue of a platoon of fellow soldiers that was surrounded during a German counterattack, died Wednesday at the Maine Veterans Home in Caribou. He was 90.

Dahlgren, a sergeant in the 36th Infantry Division, captured more than 20 German soldiers while killing and wounding several others during combat in France on Feb. 11, 1945.

“I was afraid before it happened and after it happened,” Dahlgren said in an interview 14 years ago. “But in battle I just acted on the spur of the moment.”

Dahlgren, whose other medals included the Silver Star, three Bronze Stars, the Purple Heart and the French Croix de Guerre, was discharged from the Army as a second lieutenant.

In late April, Dahlgren was decorated with the French Legion of Honor, the highest honor bestowed by that country.

A native of Woodland, Dahlgren lived in Blaine and worked for 40 years as a seed potato inspector for the state.

“He was a humble man. He won the Medal of Honor and he would never talk about it,” Blaine Town Manager Delmar “Chappy” Clark, 63, said Thursday.

Dahlgren was the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient who was a year-round resident of Maine, Gov. John Baldacci said. He pointed out that only a few more than 100 recipients of the nation’s highest military honor are still alive.

Baldacci said Dahlgren recounted to him a month ago his surprise at the great emotion displayed by President Harry Truman when he presented him with the Medal of Honor more than 60 years ago.

“Ed was a humble man,” Baldacci said. “Even after all these years, he found it hard to believe someone like the president of the United States would give him such praise and honor.”

“You’d never know that he had a military history. It wasn’t anything he focused on,” said his daughter Susan Daigneault.

A street in Caribou and a hall at the former Loring Air Force Base were named after Dahlgren.

The initial announcement of his death came from Sen. Susan Collins, who said, “America has lost a true hero with the passing of Eddie Dahlgren.”

His wife, Pauline Dahlgren, 81, said he was a very quiet person who avoided the spotlight. Their 58th wedding anniversary would have been June 12.

Those close to Dahlgren remember his intense love of sports. Dahlgren was a lifelong Red Sox fan, but didn’t limit his interest to baseball.

“He watched an awful lot of sports, didn’t matter what it was,” Pauline Dahlgren said Thursday.

“He had two TVs,” added Clark. “He would watch sports, and his wife would watch something else,” he said Thursday.

Phil Lawrence, commander of American Legion Post 118 of Mars Hill, recalls playing golf with Dahlgren as recently as last October. “He was a very outgoing person and easy to get along with,” Lawrence said.

In addition to his wife, survivors include sons Brian Dahlgren of Strafford, N.H., and Michael Dahlgren of Madawaska; daughters Susan Daigneault of North Berwick and Judith Johnston of Mars Hill; and stepson Garold “Chick” Mahan of Van Buren.

A Mass of Christian Burial was scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Presque Isle. Flags will be flown at half-staff throughout the state that day, Baldacci said.

BDN writer Michael Hartwell contributed to this report.