New Navy warship named after Camp Pendleton Marine
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A new guided missile destroyer bearing the name of a Camp Pendleton-trained Marine who was lauded for heroic acts during the Vietnam War was christened over the weekend in Maine.
The USS Patrick Gallagher, a 505-foot Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, is in final preparations before shipping to its upcoming home port from Bath Iron Works. The siblings of the warship’s namesake Lance Cpl. Patrick “Bob” Gallagher attended Saturday’s christening.
Gallagher was a Camp Pendleton-trained Marine who threw himself onto a grenade in Vietnam in July 1966 to protect his fellow soldiers — a selfless action he ultimately survived after the bomb failed to detonate. The grenade exploded only after he tossed it into a nearby river.
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The 23-year-old was later honored for his bravery with the Navy Cross, the second-highest military medal that can be given to a sailor or Marine. He was later killed on patrol the following year, about a week before his tour was set to end.
Originally from Ireland, Gallagher emigrated to America to start a new life and enlisted in the Marines while living on Long Island, New York.
The Marine was one of more than 30 Irish citizens who lost their lives in Vietnam, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said during the christening. His family added that Gallagher’s home town in County Mayo had been preparing to celebrate his return before he died.
“Ironically the plane that carried my brother’s coffin home was the plane that would have brought him home to a hero’s welcome,” said Teresa Gallagher Keegan, one of Gallagher’s sisters.
The USS Patrick Gallagher cost more than $2 billion to build and is set to be ported in Norfolk, Virginia.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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