There is a petition for the Navy to name a destroyer after Lance Cpl. Patrick “Bob” Gallagher, an Irish Immigrant who chose to serve rather than run when he was drafted for the Vietnam War just five years after moving to the United States, the Long Island Herald.com reports. He was awarded the Navy Cross, the second-highest honor for members of the Navy or Marine Corps.
Gallagher was drafted and chose to join the Marines and shipped off to Vietnam. While there, he risked his life to save fellow Marines when enemy fighters penetrated the area and threw three grenades at his unit. After kicking the first two grenades to a safe distance, according to the citation for the Navy Cross, Gallagher acted “without hesitation in a valiant act of self-sacrifice, Corporal Gallagher threw himself upon the deadly grenade in order to absorb the explosion and save the lives of his comrades.”
Toward the end of his tour in Vietnam, Gallagher volunteered to patrol the town of Da Nang where he was shot and killed, according to the San Diego Union Tribune. The celebratory return that was scheduled for the 23-year-old instantly turned into a funeral.
“If the ship were named after my brother, it would stand for all Irishman who were killed in war,” his sister Pauline told the Long Island Herald. “The Irish have a long history in foreign wars and under different flags, and we would see it as a great honor for everybody.”
So far the petition has collected more than 8,300 signatures out of the goal of 10,000 signatures. The petition says that a vessel named after Gallagher would be recognition for those “of foreign birth” who have served in the military. The vessel would also become “a welcome reminder to those at home that their loved one’s service and perhaps ultimate sacrifice were remembered by us, the citizens, members of our Armed Forces and the government of the United States of America.”
Family petitions to name US destroyer after Navy Cross recipient
