Heroic Mayo man to be honoured in US this weekend
The US Naval warship has been named after Lance Cpl Patrick Gallagher.
This weekend the official christening ceremony for a US warship named after a heroic young Mayo man takes place.
The US navy has named the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer after Lance Cpl Patrick Gallagher.
Gallagher who was born in Derrigtogher, near Ballyhaunis, was a decorated Marine who received awards for his courageous acts.
He was the first Irishman to lose his life during the Vietnam War.
the second eldest of a family of nine children who emigrated to America in 1962 to live with his aunt in Long Island, New York.
He joined the American military, and he was shipped out to Vietnam — where he served as a lance corporal with the H Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 4th Marine Regiment.
At the age of 22, he was awarded the prestigious Navy Cross medal for his extreme selflessness and bravery when his position near Cam Lo was attacked by North Vietnamese troops on July 18, 1966.
Early that morning, a North Vietnamese soldier lobbed a grenade in his defensive position.
Gallagher kicked it out and it exploded a safe distance away, not wounding him or his comrades.
However, seconds later another grenade was thrown into his trench, this time landing right between two of his comrades.
Without hesitation, the young Gallagher threw himself on the grenade.
Incredibly, the grenade didn’t detonate. Afterwards his squad leader ordered him to throw it into a barrel of water where it immediately went off. Again, it was a miracle that nobody was injured or killed.
The Mayo man died the following year when he was killed during a firefight with enemy troops near De Nang.
The citation announcing the naming of the new guided missile destroyer read: “Lance Corporal Gallagher is an American hero. His exemplary service in defence of our nation, his strength, and his sacrifice, leaves an example for all servicemen and women to emulate His legacy will live on in the future USS Gallagher, and his heroic actions will continue to inspire future sailors and marines.”
A large group from Ballyhaunis will be among those in attendance for Saturday’s ceremony in the US.
The 41st guided missile destroyer built by General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (BIW) will be christened during ceremonies at BIW’s shipyard facilities in Bath, Maine. The ship’s sponsors are his sisters: Teresa Keegan, Rosemarie Gallagher and Pauline Gallagher.
In addition to U.S. government officials, members of Congress and U.S. Navy personnel, Minister Seán Fleming, who is Ireland’s Minister for the Diaspora and Overseas Development, will represent the Irish government.
