Toms River Man, 'Black Hawk Down' Hero, Laid To Rest At Arlington

Command Sgt. Major Robert “Bob” Gallagher, the highly decorated soldier whose mission in Somalia became known through the book “Black Hawk Down,” was laid to rest Monday at Arlington National Cemetery.

Gallagher served as a platoon sergeant in the Mogadishu, Somalia, battle chronicled in the book, later made into the movie. His role was not part of the movie, however, according to an Associated Press article from 2003.

Gallagher received the Silver Star; two Bronze Stars, one with a V device (for valor during combat), and two Purple Hearts, among other awards and decorations, according to the Facebook page of the 3rd Infantry Division, which announced his death.

In addition to the Somalia mission, Gallagher also parachuted into Panama during the search for dictator Manuel Noriega, and in 2003, fought on despite being wounded as his unit made its way to Baghdad, according to the Army Times report on the burial services.

Gallagher, who was originally from Toms River but lived in Georgia, died Oct. 13 from a heart condition. He was 52.

Gallagher was born in 1962 and joined the Army as an infantryman, completing his training at Fort Benning, Ga., in 1982, the report said.

He served in the Army for 32 years before retiring last summer, his wife, Denene, told the Army Times.

“If there was a 50-year limit, Bob would have stayed until the very last minute,” she said. “He was a natural born soldier. He loved soldiering, he loved the brotherhood, being out there in the dirt and the mud.”

As a squad leader in 1989, he led Rangers from 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment in the night combat parachute assault in Panama during Operation Just Cause, which was the hunt for Noriega. The Somalia battle, part of Operation Gothic Serpent in Mogadishu, occurred three years later. Gallagher served in combat at least two more times in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the report said.

From 2009 until he retired, Gallagher -- who as a soldier who had been wounded in battle said he understood the issues soldiers faced -- worked with the Army’s Wounded Warrior program in Washington, helping injured soldiers and their families.

One of those wounds led to him receiving the Silver Star in 2003. Gallagher suffered a leg wound as his unit advanced from Kuwait to Baghdad, but he continued directing his men, often with them fighting through fierce Iraqi resistance.

It wasn’t his first battlefield wound, having been shot in the arm in Somalia in 1993, according to one of the Philadelphia Inquirer pieces written by Mark Bowden that would become the basis for the “Black Hawk Down” book and movie.

“The best day and the worst day of my life was when I served in Mogadishu, Somalia, on October 3, 1993, as a part of Task Force Ranger,” Gallagher said in a 2010 interview published as he took over his post at the Wounded Warrior Program. It was the worst day, because 18 soldiers died and 84 were wounded, he said, but “It was the best day of my life because it showed the incredible performance of our warriors in long-protracted battle under extraordinary circumstances in an urban environment. Throughout it all, the warriors that fought that day performed in a manner that was consistent with the values of our nation, and I was very proud of that.”

In a 2003 Associated Press story shared on the blog AR15.com, Gallagher talked about the Somalia assault and the difficulties of peacekeeping missions the Army was assigned to in various parts of the world, telling a group of soldiers that the issues they face are challenging because in some instances, teenagers armed with automatic weapons were the enemy.

“At the end of the day, our morals define us,” Gallagher is quoted as telling those soldiers. “Be sure of the threat, positively identify the threat, and do what you’re trained to do in a manner consistent with our values.”

Gallagher also was the subject of a 3-minute profile titled “A Profile of Courage,” where he was interviewed on CBS by Dan Rather in 2003 in Kuwait about the ”Black Hawk Down” incident while he was serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Patrick Gallagher, the oldest of his four children, told the Army Times his father never bragged about his awards and honors.

“I never saw the military side of him,” Patrick Gallagher said. “Whenever we were together, he was a real down-to-earth person. I saw the dad side of him.”

Gallagher’s other children are Sean, Kacy and Adikan. In addition to his wife, he is survived by six borthers and sisters. He was predeceased by his first wife, Joelle, and his brother John, according to the obituary from the Richmond Hill Funeral Home in Georgia.

Denene Gallagher is raising money to pay for a bronze statue of him that she hopes will one day be on display at Fort Benning. A GoFundme page was created but as of Wednesday morning it was marked as closed. Denene Gallagher also is posting updates on Twitter, according to the Army Times.

More than 200 people turned out for the military burial at Arlington National Cemetery, where Gallagher’s cremains were laid to rest.

Read more about his career and see photos of the service at the Army Times article.

(Photo courtesy 3rd Infantry Division Facebook page)