Marine Lance Cpl. Patrick J. Gallagher

Remember Our Heroes

Marine Lance Cpl. Patrick J. Gallagher, 27, of Jacksonville, Fla.

LCpl Gallagher was assigned to elements of the 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died April 2, 2006 when the seven-ton truck he was riding in rolled over in a flash flood near Asad, Iraq. Also killed were: Cpl. Andres Aguilar Jr., Cpl. David A. Bass, Lance Cpl. Felipe D. Sandoval-Flores, Cpl. Brian R. St. Germain and Staff Sgt. Abraham G. Twitchell.


Fairhaven native wanted nothing more than to be a Marine

FAIRHAVEN, Mass. — A Marine lance corporal who grew up in Fairhaven and lived in Florida was among six Marines who died when their truck rolled over in a flash flood near Asad, Iraq, the Pentagon confirmed on Wednesday.

Lance Cpl. Patrick J. Gallagher, 27, who died Sunday, wanted nothing more in life than to be a Marine, his friend, Daniel Martin, told the Standard-Times of New Bedford.

His mother, Barbara Gallagher of Acushnet, said her son was driven in part to enlist because he had a cousin who was killed in the World Trade Center during the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

That’s when her son became “really gung-ho” about joining the military, she said. He was accepted about two years ago, she said.

His brother Michael, 25, is serving in the Navy. Gallagher’s father, Walter Gallagher Jr., lives in Westport.

The Pentagon listed Gallagher’s home town as Jacksonville, Fla., where he lived with his wife, Elizabeth, and their 2-year-old son, Evan.

Gallagher was assigned to the 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Also killed in the flash flood accident was Cpl. Brian R. St. Germain, 22, of Warwick, R.I.

Another Massachusetts marine, Cpl. Scott J. Procopio, 20, of Saugus, was killed on Sunday during combat operations in Anbar Province, Iraq. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

As of Wednesday, at least 2,346 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. At least 34 Massachusetts natives or residents have died in Iraq, according to an AP count.