★★★ Memorial Monday ★★★
LT Michael Gallagher '79, USN, was lost on June 16, 1983 when the P-3 Orion he was aboard crashed on Kauai, Hawaii. All fourteen men aboard were killed; they were members of Patrol Squadron (VP) 1.
From the Lucky Bag:
The night before I-day 1975 Mike had a choice between Georgia Tech and Navy. He flipped a coin and has resided in Bancroft since. He has seen many parts of the world from Midway to Adak but calls Pensacola home. On the pistol range plebe summer he quickly discovered he shot better without his glasses, and shoot he did. He’s been an N-star on the varsity team ever since and it’s rumored he can knock a hair off a tick’s butt at 50 yards. He’s also proven money can buy love. In the fall of segundo year he became the proud owner of a 280-Z and the roads around Annapolis have never been the same. He has set several land speed records and once was even ‘officially’ clocked. His roommates shared his love for weekend rides on windy backroads and proved adequate ramblin’ partners. Mike took physics as his guiding light in preparation for Nuke Power but found out neither was in his future. He’s earned the respect of his classmates and is sure to go far.
From the September 1983 issue of Shipmate:
Appointed to the Naval Academy from the State of Florida, he was a member of a Navy family, his father being a career supply corps officer now retired in Pensacola. As a midshipman, Lt. Gallagher was a member of the Academy varsity pistol team which attained national status during his membership, and upon graduation with the Class of 1979 he was assigned to temporary duty with the Navy Pistol Team to take part in the 1980 Olympic Trials. During his first class year he was the 29th Company commander.
After his assignment for the pistol team qualification, he transferred to the Naval Aviations Schools Command and VT-10, later being ordered to the Naval Air Training Unit at Mather Air Force Base in Sacramento, California, for advanced navigation training.
Upon being awarded his NFO wings in 1981, he joined VP-31 at Moffett Field in California, then was assigned to VP-1 at Barbers Point, Hawaii. While attached to this squadron he qualified as navigator and as an ASW tactical coordinator, completing two deployments and several detachments to the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
He is survived by his widow Gretchen of Pensacola; his parents, Capt. (SC USN Ret.) and Mrs. Eugene M. Gallagher of Pensacola, FL; and two sisters.
To Honor! ⚓
https://usnamemorialhall.org/index.php/MICHAEL_E._GALLAGHER,_LT,_USN