The U.S. Navy is still working on building DDG 127, a new Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, but this weekend it officially christened the ship. As the Irish flag flew overhead and an Irish official spoke, the Navy officially welcomed the USS Patrick Gallagher. It was an unusual christening, in part because the namesake of the ship was an Irish citizen who fought and died in the Vietnam War as a Marine.
Marine Lance Corporal Patrick “Bob” Gallagher earned the Navy Cross, the U.S. Navy’s highest honor, for his actions in the war, saving his comrades from grenades and risking his own life to do so. He survived that attack but would later be killed in Vietnam near the end of his tour. 57 years later, in Bath, Maine, Navy officials, Navy leaders, Gallagher’s sisters and Seán Fleming, Ireland’s minister of state at the Department of Foreign Affairs, all gathered to honor him. Three of his sisters christened the ship by smashing a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow. It’s the first vessel in the U.S. Navy named for Gallagher. Also in attendance was the ship’s prospective crew.
Gallager was born in 1944 in County Mayo, Ireland and was an Irish citizen. He moved to the United States in 1962 for work and obtained a green card, on his way to earning American citizenship. He was drafted to fight in Vietnam in 1965 and chose to go, even as some family suggested he return to Ireland to avoid the war. He served with H Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 3rd Marine Division. On July 18, 1966, they were on patrol when several grenades were thrown at them. Gallagher quickly kicked one away from the other Marines and then jumped on another.
“Without hesitation, in a valiant act of self-sacrifice, Lance Corporal Gallagher threw himself upon the deadly grenade in order to absorb the explosion and save the lives of his comrades. The other three Marines moved to safety while two other grenades landed in the position and exploded, miraculously injuring no one,” his Navy Cross citation reads.
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The grenade Gallagher jumped on did not immediately explode. He was able to pull it out from under him and toss it into a nearby river where it detonated. “Through his extraordinary heroism and inspiring valor in the face of almost certain death, he saved his comrades from probable injury and possible loss of life,” the citation continues.
He would be awarded the Navy Cross later in 1966.
Although Gallagher survived that incident, he did not survive Vietnam. While on a patrol in March 1967, his unit was ambushed and he was killed in action. He was 23. Gallagher was close to finishing his tour of duty and according to his family was going to visit Ireland once out of the war. Instead, his body was brought back to County Mayo and buried there. Gallagher was among more than two dozen Irish citizens killed during the Vietnam War.
“Not yet an American citizen, Cpl. Gallagher made the ultimate sacrifice for his adopted nation,” Sen. Susan Collins said on Saturday.
After years of petitioning from supporters of Gallagher’s legacy, including Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Navy agreed in 2018 to name a ship for him. The destroyer’s keel was laid down in March 2022.
“Patrick has not been forgotten. He lives forever young in our hearts and minds, and this ship will outlive all of us,” Gallagher’s youngest sister Pauline said at the ceremony.
The Arleigh Burke class of destroyers are a major part of the U.S. Navy’s surface fleet. They’re meant for operations against land, air and sea-based enemies. Recently ships of the class have played a major role in American operations in the Middle East, particularly in the Red Sea shooting down drones and missiles fired at commercial vessels over the past year.
The USS Patrick Gallagher is still under construction and is expected to enter service in the coming years. Rear Adm. Thomas Anderson said at the ceremony that once the destroyer is commissioned, it will sail to Ireland in honor of its namesake.
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