Keel laying for ship named after Vietnam War hero from Mayo

A KEEL laying ceremony for a Navy ship to be named after a Mayo native who died during the Vietnam War has taken place in Maine, USA.

On July 18, 1966, 23-year-old Cpl. Patrick 'Bob' Gallagher saved the lives of three comrades in Vietnam, for which he was awarded the Navy Cross, the US Navy’s highest honour.

Cpl. Gallagher, who was the second eldest of nine children, was shot dead while on patrol in Da Nang, Vietnam, on March 30, 1967.

The Ballyhaunis native is being remembered by the US government which is naming its newest Arleigh-Burke Class guided missile destroyer the USS Patrick Gallagher.

The keel laying for the vessel took place in Bath, Maine, on the 55th anniversary of his death.

The ship named in his honour will be constructed at the General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Maine and members of the Gallagher family travelled there to authenticate the keel on DDG127 - the future USS Patrick Gallagher.

Mass was celebrated with family and supporters before Gallagher’s sisters Rosemarie Gallagher, Teresa Keegan and Pauline Gallagher authenticated the keel by striking welding arcs onto a steel plate that will be incorporated into the ship.