Fifty-seven years after he died while on patrol in Vietnam, Irishman Lance Corporal Patrick Gallagher has had a US navy shipped named after him.
The USS Patrick Gallagher, a destroyer, was “christened” and launched in front of 2,500 guests at the General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (BIW) in Maine on Saturday afternoon.
Gallagher is the one of the first non-American citizens to have a ship named after him. The honour is a tribute both to his bravery and of the attempts by his family and friends to keep his name alive.
Patrick Gallagher was born the second of nine children of Peter and Mary Gallagher in Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo on February 1st, 1944.
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In 1962, at the age of 18, he emigrated to the United States to live with his aunt in Long Island with a view to studying to becoming a solicitor.
In 1965 during the Vietnam War he enlisted in the US Marine Corps. Three months after his tour of Vietnam began, he won the Navy Cross, the US Navy’s highest honour, and the Congressional Medal of Honor for an incredible act of bravery in July 1966.
He dived on a grenade to protect his comrades in order to absorb the explosion. Fortunately the grenade did not explode and he threw it into a lake.
He was eventually killed on March 30th 1967 during a patrol in Da Nang. He was just 23. The news was conveyed to the parish priest in Ballyhaunis who informed Gallagher’s family of his death.
His body was repatriated, with his funeral attracting a huge crowd.
Towards the end of 2013 a group of Irish men had been discussing Corporal Gallagher at Donnelly’s Trinity Hall pub in Dallas, Texas. In the company was pilot Martin Durkan from Ballyhaunis who supplied details of Corporal Gallagher’s story from an article in The Irish Times.
They decided to launch the online petition to have a US Navy ship named in his honour. The website “Help Us Honor A Marine Corps Hero”, at www.patrickgallagherusmc.info was sponsored by Marius Donnelly, originally from Malahide in Co Dublin.
When 10,000 signatures were secured a political campaign then began in the US. They have a critical ally in Senator Chuck Schumer and in 2018 the US Navy accepted the petition and the ship has taken six years to build.
The ceremony was attended by Corporal Gallagher’s remaining siblings Peter, Teresa, Rosemarie and Pauline along with 18 of his nephews and nieces.
It was a proud day for the Gallagher family, said his youngest sister Pauline who was three when he died.
“The ship is a great honour, but the grief still lives on,” Pauline says. “It’s an honour for my brother especially that they have given it to a non-American citizen. This ship sails for all the other Irishman who died in Vietnam.”
Speaking at the naming of the ship, Minister of State for International Development and Diaspora Seán Fleming said he was honoured to represent the Government and to pay tribute to the “extraordinary life story” of Patrick Gallagher.
“Corporal Gallagher epitomises the values of courage, perseverance and fortitude under challenging circumstances that characterises Ireland’s diaspora. The naming of this ship in his honour is a testament to his inspiring story and comes following a long campaign led by Corporal Gallagher’s family. I offer my sincere congratulations and best wishes to the entire Gallagher family today on this important recognition of Patrick’s achievements and life,” he said.
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