Wallace H. Graham
Wallace Harry Graham was the Physician to the President during the presidency of Harry S. Truman. Wallace Harry Graham was born to James Walter and Elizabeth Graham on October 9, 1910, in the northeast Kansas town of Highland. In 1919, he moved with his family to Kansas City, Missouri, where his father, a physician opened a practice. Graham graduated from Paseo High School in 1928, and attended the University of Missouri for one year. He transferred to Warrensburg State Teachers' College where he completed his B.S. degree in 1932. Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, awarded him a medical degree in 1935 after which he completed internships at Kansas City General Hospital, Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; and, Cook County General Hospital, Chicago.
In 1938, Dr. Graham completed post-graduate work in pathology and surgery at the University of Vienna and Vienna General Hospital and Városi Hospital, Szeged, Hungary, the University of Budapest. While there, a German S.S. Officer attempted to recruit Dr. Graham into the German Army. Dr. Graham helped several Austrian Jewish families immigrate to the United States, saving them from the Holocaust. In 1939, he attended the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh, Scotland before returning to Kansas City to practice with his father. There, he served on the surgical staffs of Kansas City General Hospital, Research Hospital and St. Joseph's Hospitals.
Dr. Graham joined the US Army as first lieutenant on October 4, 1941, serving at Fort Leavenworth, Ft. Leonard Wood, and Ft. Warren, and shipped overseas from Memphis, Tennessee. In 1943, he was assigned to the London University and Hammersmith Hospital for advanced surgical training required for combat duty. In June, 1944, he jointed the Normandy Invasion with the 24th Evacuation Hospital, landing on Omaha Easy Red Beach D-Day +4. He later served with the 51st Field Hospital, the 2nd Armored Division and with the 101st Airborne Division.
He was first wounded at Nijmegen, Holland, on October 30, and received three additional wounds in subsequent battles. After recovering, he served the 9th Army as Chief on Surgeons in the 97th Evacuation Hospital. He attended the wounded of Operation Overlord, Operation Torch, Operation Market Garden, and the Battle of the Bulge. On at least two occasions, Col. Graham, who was fluent in German, "talked down" German soldiers intent on killing or capturing him. On one occasion, Col. Graham single-handedly "captured" a detail of starving German soldiers and led them back to the Allied Lines where they were fed, then sent to prisoner of war camps. He was present at the liberation of Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp and among the first physicians to treat the prisoners.
While in Stuttgart, General Harry Vaughn ordered Col. Graham to Potsdam, a suburb of Berlin. In an interview, General Vaughn asked Col. Graham if he would like to be the personal physician to the President of the United States. He responded that he would not because he felt the President needed a general practice physician who was older and more experienced. Additionally, he wanted to care for more than one person, so he returned to his unit. The following day, he was once again summoned to General Vaughn who sternly reminded him he was in the US Army and took orders from superior officers. Thus, Col. Graham began his duty as Personal Physician to the President. While in Potsdam, he provided medical care to the President, Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin. Once back in the States, President Truman arranged for Col. Graham to not only serve as his physician but perform surgery at Walter Reed Army Hospital, and later as a professorial lecturer in surgery at Georgetown University, Washington D.C. Additionally, Col. Graham provided care for visiting heads of state and senior White House staff. In September, 1946, President Truman nominated him for the rank of Brigadier General.
By the end of the war, General Graham had received the following international decorations for medical care to the wounded: Belgium, the Order of Leopold II, Grand Officer and Croix de Guerre with Palm; Greece, Order of the Phoenix, Grand Officer; France, Legion d'Honneur, Commander and Chevalier; Dominican Republic, Order of Juan Pablo Durante, Grand Officer; Cuba, Order of Carlos Finlay, Grand Officer; Brazil, Order of Military Merit, First Class; Nicaragua, Order of Military Merit, First Class; Peru, Medical Distinction; Mexico, Medical Citation and Medical Distinction.
While serving the President, General Graham performed surgery at Walter Reed Army Hospital in the mornings, and then spent the afternoons and evenings at the White House. Each day, General Graham would perform a medical review of the President's health, then consult on healthcare issues, treat patients and represent the White House at official functions. President Truman regularly assigned General Graham to lead medical missions on behalf of the United States Government. His 1953 mission to Saudi Arabia was a most medically and diplomatically complicated one. The Ambassador to Saudi Arabia requested medical care for King Ibn Saud for a growth on his head/neck and severe arthritis. In a matter of days, General Graham, working with the staff of Walter Reed Army Hospital, organized a complete medical and surgical unit with specialists, technicians and equipment to be flown to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Prior to performing King Saud's operation, a Saudi General warned General Graham that if the surgery was not successful, General Graham would be killed. The surgery was successful and General Graham and his staff subsequently treated the entire Royal Family, cementing cordial Saudi ties to the US. Other notable medical missions included trips to Peru, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Brazil.
Having become close friends, Dr. Graham continued to care for President and Mrs. Truman until their deaths. Each Sunday afternoon, he visited the Trumans at their Independence, Missouri, home conducting routine check ups. Additionally, Dr. Graham maintained a busy surgical practice at Research Hospital in Kansas City, MO. Being a Kansas City Golden Gloves Champion in the 1930s, he supported the boxing organization throughout his life and served as physician to his son's wrestling team.
Dr. Graham married his childhood sweetheart, Velma, and together they raised three children, Wallace Scott Graham, Heather Graham Foote, and Bruce Graham. Those who knew him, described Dr. Graham as a man of high integrity and who was extremely positive, out-going and somewhat mischievous. He embraced each life experience as an opportunity and adventure. Dr. Wallace Graham died on January 4, 1996, and is buried in Mt. Moriah Cemetery in Kansas City, MO.
In April 1950 President Truman sent Graham with a medical team to visit and assist King Ibn Saud, who, among other things, suffered from severe arthritis. The response from Riyadh was favorable, and the visit helped cement relations between the United States and the Saudi kingdom, which had been strained by the US recognition of Israel.