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File photo. © Cole Schroeder/Planet Pix via ZUMA Wire

US Destroyer to be named after Irish man who fought in Vietnam war

Patrick Gallagher grew up just outside Ballyhaunis before emigrating to the US in 1962

A US NAVY Destroyer is to be named after an Irish man who died during the Vietnam War.

The US Navy announced that it will name its latest Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer in honour of Mayo man Patrick Gallagher.

Gallagher grew up just outside Ballyhaunis before emigrating to the US in 1962. He joined the Marine Corps in 1966 where he served in H-Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division during Operation Hastings in Vietnam.

He was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions on 18 July, 1966. The Navy said Gallagher threw his body on a grenade, shielding his fellow marines.

He then threw the grenade into a nearby river where it exploded. No one was injured in the incident.

The Mayo man was killed in action just one year later near De Nang on 30 March 1967.

The US Navy said he is one of 30 known Irish citizens to have died in the Vietnam conflict.

The USS Gallagher will contain offensive and defensive weaponry and will be capable of fighting air, surface and subsurface battles simultaneously.

It will be built in Maine.

“Lance Corporal Gallagher is an American hero. His exemplary service in defense of our nation and his strength and sacrifice leaves an example for all servicemen and women to emulate,” said secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer.

Read: Surge in women joining Defence Forces after €360,000 is spent on recruitment campaigns

Read: ‘We are in the middle of a tragedy’: Argentina gives up search for 44 missing sailors

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    Mute Universal Soldier
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    Mar 12th 2018, 10:17 PM

    Great stuff. Irish soldiers have fought in nearly all major conflicts in modern history. Always gave a great account of themselves.

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    Mute John Brendan Mullen
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    Mar 12th 2018, 10:30 PM

    @Universal Soldier: fought for the wrong side in this conflict. It was a purely Vietnamese post colonial power struggle which the USA had no good reason to involve themselves in

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    Mute Universal Soldier
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    Mar 12th 2018, 10:35 PM

    @John Brendan Mullen: There are no winners in war regardless of what side you are on.

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    Mute Charles Williams
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    Mar 12th 2018, 10:43 PM

    @Universal Soldier: Do you realise millions of people died in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos in wars perpetrated firstly by the French in the 1950s and then the USA in the 1960s to mid 1970s. They died from the war, bombing, landmines and Agent Orange a deadly chemical used as a defoliate. A criminal war where the ordinary Vietnamese were the victims of western indifference and contempt.

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    Mute Universal Soldier
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    Mar 12th 2018, 10:46 PM

    @Charles Williams: Thanks for the history lesson. I see you know how to Google. Good for you.

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    Mute GoodByeMaryLooHelloSue
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    Mar 12th 2018, 10:53 PM

    @Universal Soldier: the allies won

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    Mute Scott Crossfield
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    Mar 12th 2018, 10:55 PM

    @John Brendan Mullen: don’t think the other side were taking applications at the time

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    Mute Gerry Fitzgerald
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    Mar 12th 2018, 11:47 PM

    @John Brendan Mullen: GFY….figure it out.

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    Mute David Edwards
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    Mar 13th 2018, 7:47 AM

    @John Brendan Mullen: thanks for the revisionism, U.S foreign policy is borderline evil no doubt but your country wasn’t at the end of the “dominoes”. There are a lot of vietnamese in Australia who were grateful for the help even though they were displaced from their homeland

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    Mute jon-boy55
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    Mar 13th 2018, 7:58 AM

    @Universal Soldier: how wrong you are. The banks, who start every war and then fund both sides, always profit massively

    5
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    Mute Vocal Outrage
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    Mar 13th 2018, 8:37 AM

    @jon-boy55: hold on, are you really claiming the bankers are responsible for the Vietnam War? REALLY!!

    A new version of historical revisionism there. I think you really need to get a grip and take off the tin foil hat

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    Mute David Edwards
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    Mar 13th 2018, 9:34 AM

    @Universal Soldier: rarely on the winning side though…… except when fighting for the British …… strange.

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    Mute hallelujah
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    Mar 13th 2018, 10:36 AM

    @Charles Williams: The Vietnam war was fought at the height of the Cold war. There was a country called South Vietnam, it was not a democracy but the US decided to support it in the struggle against Chinese/Soviet communism.

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    Mute Universal Soldier
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    Mar 13th 2018, 11:08 AM

    @jon-boy55: Never go full ret@rd

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    Mute John Brendan Mullen
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    Mar 13th 2018, 11:21 AM

    @Scott Crossfield: possibly not but Ho Chi Minh followed developments in Ireland very closely. He followed Terrance McSweeneys hunger strike daily on the news and was distraught by his death. There are 3 Irish revolutionaries depicted in Ho’s moseleum
    Michael Collins Terrance and Mary McSweeneys

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    Mute John Brendan Mullen
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    Mar 13th 2018, 1:30 PM

    @David Edwards: which revisionism would you be referring to. The Vietnam war was the inevitable result of South Vietnam cancelling a national plebiscite to elect a president. The south knew Ho Chi Minh would win so they ignored the treaty signed with the French. USA should butt out of other countries internal affairs.

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    Mute Steve mc cabe
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    Mar 12th 2018, 11:50 PM

    Regardless of the “opinions”of the usual muckrakers of the rights or wrongs of the conflict ..the fact is this man …one of our own btw …was selfless,honourable and beyond brave and would seem to have achieved more in his short life and untimely death than the wasters who constantly moan about their small little lives and 1st world problems and who revil in self satisfied smugness when belittling anybody who wears a uniform and serves in any capacity they can.The ship with will be here and forever immortalised while those here who sneer and feel they make a real difference on the internet will soon be forgotten for the irrelevance they are and irrelevance they and we all know they are ….semper fi.

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    Mute Michael Knight
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    Mar 13th 2018, 12:02 AM

    @Steve mc cabe: Irony overload.

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    Mute Steve mc cabe
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    Mar 13th 2018, 12:25 AM

    @Michael Knight: ……ohhh burn …..ill be awake all night with that witty reprose ……..haven’t commented on the journal for some time and when I do …it’s my real identity ….are ye still working for knight industries …dont think it’s been the same since David hasslehoff retired from the driving and started singing.

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    Mute Peter Lonergan
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    Mar 13th 2018, 5:37 AM

    @Steve mc cabe: forever immortalised until the US Navy have another collision and have to scrap it

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    Mute jon-boy55
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    Mar 13th 2018, 8:02 AM

    @Steve mc cabe: he died in a pointless war that makes him a braindead twit. As for the boat being around forever – hopefully not, hopefully it will be sunk

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    Mute Jack McGuire
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    Mar 13th 2018, 9:32 AM

    @Steve mc cabe: Well said..

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    Mute Sean Conway
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    Mar 13th 2018, 10:19 AM

    @jon-boy55: He was either a mercenary. a killer or an idiot. or maybe a bit of all three.

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    Mute hallelujah
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    Mar 13th 2018, 10:37 AM

    @jon-boy55: The first casualty of war is innocence and then the truth. Mr Gallagher was a brave young man. RIP

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    Mute 6ljJQRRU
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    Mar 12th 2018, 10:25 PM

    A 23 year old who sadly died in a pointless war.

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    Mute Michael Knight
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    Mar 12th 2018, 10:33 PM

    @6ljJQRRU: As the great Muhammad Ali said, the Vietnam War was nothing but “white people sending black people to fight yellow people to protect the country they stole from the red people.”

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    Mute John Brendan Mullen
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    Mar 12th 2018, 10:35 PM

    @Michael Knight: I think even the great Ali copied that quote from one of the Neville Brothers. Charlie or Cyril.

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    Mute Michael Knight
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    Mar 12th 2018, 10:42 PM

    @John Brendan Mullen: Once it wasn’t Gary or Phil!

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    Mute Ciaran Tuomey
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    Mar 12th 2018, 11:24 PM

    @6ljJQRRU: Respect the man from Mayo who sacrificed his life so you freely express your dismissive nonsense

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    Mute John Brendan Mullen
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    Mar 12th 2018, 11:42 PM

    @Michael Knight: very good.

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    Mute Martin Byrne
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    Mar 13th 2018, 6:43 AM

    A waste of his life and a dubious ‘honour’ to have your name on an instrument of death.
    But at least there is mention of his name. I’d prefer if it had been from his grandchildren after a long and happy life.

    Remember too the lives he took. Just as precious as his.

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    Mute hallelujah
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    Mar 13th 2018, 10:38 AM

    @Martin Byrne: I wonder if he was in the British army, would you be saying this.

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    Mute Martin Byrne
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    Mar 13th 2018, 9:54 PM

    @hallelujah: yes I would. Killing is wrong. Any other questions?

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    Mute Geraldine Mcnamara
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    Mar 13th 2018, 7:09 AM

    Universal Soldier,
    Irish soldiers did not fight in nearly all conflicts as you claim. As in this case, they were soldiers of the US army . Irish people joined armies of other countries and fought as soldiers of those nations. That does not make them Irish soldiers.
    This man Gallagher was an American soldier and that is why they are honouring him.

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    Mute Tommy Whelan
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    Mar 13th 2018, 8:07 AM

    @Geraldine Mcnamara: in this case your correct . He was a Irish man in a American unit . Over the last three to four hundred yrs imperialist countries created individual units of different nationalities . Irish units made up of Irish soldiers served just about every European imperialist nation . Irish units also play a important role in the American civil war . https://youtu.be/78fo_qplRWo

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    Mute Ros Aodha
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    Mar 13th 2018, 11:43 AM

    @Geraldine Mcnamara: na, he’s irish so an irish soldier, a soldier born in ireland,
    deny it all you want. I for one am proud of him and his service to his chosen country.
    Lets not forget, Wellington was Irish and beat napoleon, another great irish soldier.

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    Mute Geraldine Mcnamara
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    Mar 13th 2018, 3:51 PM

    @Ros Aodha:
    You can only be an Irish soldier if you are in the Irish Army. My own uncle fought in Vietnam. He was born in Co Cork. He was never an Irish soldier, he was an American soldier.

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    Mute Denis McClean
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    Mar 13th 2018, 12:58 AM

    Vietnam might have been the first perfect way in that it fostered maximum employment with subsequent increase in both personal tax and corporate tax receipts from an arms industry on hyper-drive and all funded by stupid Joe Soap. That’s why the US is now addicted to war and conducts them anytime the balance of payments deficit (As per the Federal Reserve) demands more virtual money to stave off the now inevitable bankruptcy.

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    Mute FlopFlipU
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    Mar 13th 2018, 4:59 AM

    @Denis McClean: A bit of that and a bit of fear of a advancing communism.Ideology and religion or maybe they are the same thing really

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    Mute Brendan McLaughlin
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    Mar 13th 2018, 11:51 AM

    The Vietnamese refer to it as “The American War”.

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    Mute Ian Oh
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    Mar 13th 2018, 7:46 PM

    Nothing to be proud of. It was a stupid war. Like most that the USA have initiated. And I have lived in both Vietnam and the US.

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