Christening of Arleigh Burke-class Destroyer Named for Irish Citizen Patrick Gallagher. Ceremony in the US on July 27th next is in honour of a young Mayo man who was killed in Vietnam in 1967 shortly after winning the Navy Cross.
USS Patrick Gallagher was christened in Maine on Saturday with ceremony attended by family and Minister of State Seán FlemingCommodore Mick Malone; Chargé d'affaires at the US embassy in Ireland Reece Smyth; Peter Gallagher; Pauline Gallagher; Gen Walter Boomer Marine Corps; Teresa Keegan; vice-Admiral Mark Mellet; Rosemary Gallagher; and Maj Gen Kieran Brennan at a reception in recognition of the naming of the ship.
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. 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.
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”, atWhen 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 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.”
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