Please sign our petition and help the Ancient Order of The Hibernians properly honor Patrick Gallagher by having a U.S. Naval Guided Missile Destroyer named after him. 

Patrick Gallagher, from County Mayo Ireland, emigrated to New York in 1962 at age 18. Patrick was enrolled in law school while working in real estate. With the escalation of the Vietnam War, Patrick enlisted in the Marine Corps on November 5, 1965, and was sent to Vietnam, assigned to Hotel Company, 2nd Battalion, Fourth Marines.

In the early morning of July 18, 1966, while set in defensive positions near Cam Lo, Republic of Vietnam, the enemy threw a grenade into the position which Patrick and his fellow Marines were manning. Without hesitation, Patrick threw his body on the grenade in order to protect his comrades. The grenade failed to explode until he picked it up and threw it out of the position, upon which the grenade exploded. For his heroism, Patrick was was awarded the Navy Cross.

On March 30, 1967, Patrick was killed in action when his unit was ambushed by Viet Cong guerillas while on patrol at Dai Lac, near the coastal city of Da Nang. Patrick was due to complete his tour and return home two weeks later on April 14.

We believe that Patrick’s life and death is symbolic of the Irish immigrant and stands as a testament to the character of Irish-American immigrants who have served our country from the Revolutionary War to the present. This petition is a call to honor this Irish-American War Hero and have a U.S. Naval vessel named after him.

Petition:
We, the undersigned, respectfully request that the Secretary of the Navy assign the name of Lance Corporal Patrick Gallagher, USMC, (Navy Cross,) of Ballyhaunis, Co. Mayo, Ireland (Killed in Action, Da Nang, 30 March, 1967) to one of the Guided Missile Destroyers (DDG 120 through DDG 127) scheduled to be commissioned in 2020 and beyond.

For more information contact Bill Bryson @ brysonwj@comcast.net