Irish sisters christen US warship bearing name of their brother, who was lauded for heroism

BATH, Maine (AP) — With an Irish flag overhead and bagpipes playing, three sisters of an Irish-born recipient of the Navy Cross christened a warship bearing his name on Saturday — and secured a promise that the ship will visit Ireland.

The future USS Patrick Gallagher is a guided missile destroyer that is under construction at Bath Iron Works and bears the name of the Irish citizen and U.S. Marine who fell on a grenade to save his comrades in Vietnam. Gallagher survived the grenade attack for which he was lauded for his heroism. But he didn't survive his tour of duty in Vietnam.

Pauline Gallagher, one of his sisters, told a crowd at the shipyard that the destroyer bearing her brother's name helps put to rest her mother's fear that memories of her son would be forgotten.

“Patrick has not been forgotten. He lives forever young in our hearts and minds, and this ship will outlive all of us,” she said, before invoking the ship's motto, which comes from the family: “Life is for living. Be brave and be bold.”

Joined by sisters Rosemarie Gallagher and Teresa Gallagher Keegan, they smashed bottles of sparkling wine on the ship's hull. A Navy band broke into “Anchors Aweigh” as streamers appeared in the air overhead.

The Irish influence was unmistakable at the event. An Irish flag joined the Stars and Stripes overhead. A Navy band played the Irish anthem, and bagpipes performed “My Gallant Hero." A large contingent of Gallagher's family and friends traveled from Ireland. The keynote speaker was Seán Fleming, Ireland's minister of state at the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Lance Cpl. Patrick “Bob” Gallagher was an Irish citizen, from County Mayo, who moved to America to start a new life and enlisted in the Marines while living on Long Island, New York. He survived falling on a grenade to save his comrades in July 1966 — it didn’t explode until he tossed it into a nearby river — only to be killed on patrol in March 1967, days before he was to return home.

Teresa Gallagher Keegan, one of nine children, described her brother as a humble man who tried to hide his service in Vietnam until he was awarded the Navy Cross, making it impossible. She said Gallagher's hometown had been preparing to celebrate his return. “Ironically the plane that carried my brother’s coffin home was the plane that would have brought him home to a hero’s welcome,” she said.

Gallagher was among more than 30 Irish citizens who lost their lives in Vietnam, said U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, one of the speakers, who described the event as a “day of solemn remembrance as well as a day of celebration.”

A brother, in addition to the sisters, attended the ceremony in which Pauline Gallagher secured a promise from Rear Adm. Thomas Anderson that the ship would sail to Ireland after it is commissioned.

Outside the shipyard, police arrested nine protesters who were part of a larger group of about 75 demonstrators from organizations including Maine Veterans for Peace and a group supporting Palestinians, according to the Bath Police Department. The nine were blocking vehicles and trespassing before the event began, police said.

The 510-foot (155-meter) guided-missile destroyer was in dry dock as work continues to prepare the ship for delivery to the Navy. Displacing 9,200 tons, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer is built to simultaneously wage war against submarines, surface warships, aircraft and missiles. The newest versions are being equipped for ballistic missile defense.