April 21, 2016

Wyden, Merkley Introduce Bill to Name Clinic in The Dalles For Local War Hero Loren Kaufman

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley introduced legislation that would designate the veterans community-based outpatient clinic in The Dalles the Loren R. Kaufman Memorial Veterans’ Clinic.

The Oregon senators said their bill introduced this week would provide long-overdue recognition to a local Army soldier who served bravely in both World War II and the Korean War.

“There is no better way to remember Loren Kaufman’s service and sacrifice than honoring him at a clinic that helps veterans in his hometown,” Wyden said.  “We owe all of our veterans a tremendous debt of gratitude, and this bill would convey our thanks to one brave Oregonian for generations to come.”

“Our veterans stand up for us while serving overseas, and it is only right that they should receive services back home in a building named after a Medal of Honor recipient who dedicated his life to freedom,” said Merkley. “It’s time we honor Loren Kaufman’s service to our country by dedicating the veterans clinic in the town where he was born and raised to his service and sacrifice.”

Born and raised in The Dalles, Kaufman enlisted in the U.S. Army the week after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.  He would serve in World War II and later in the Korean War, where he was killed in action in 1951. 

Sergeant First Class Kaufman was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in September 1950. His Medal of Honor citation reads, in part, “The dauntless courage and resolute intrepid leadership of Sfc. Kaufman were directly responsible for the success of his company in regaining its positions.”