Silent Posting

Lt. Matthew Gallagher sits on a burned out Iraqi armored vehicle, early 2008. The photo was presumably taken by a member of his platoon (the "Gravediggers"). (Courtesy of Dennis Gallagher)

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Matthew Gallagher began considering a military career as his high school years were coming to an end. His father, a lawyer for a Las Vegas casino and hotel chain, made it clear that the 'rents would be happy to pay for college. The son said thanks, but no thanks.

"He made a decision when he was a senior in high school that he wanted to basically pay for his own education," Dennis Gallagher said in an interview.

The United States was not at war then. Dennis and Deborah Gallagher were proud when their son, ROTC scholarship in hand, headed to Wake Forest University to major in history.

When it came time for him to take the oath to become an officer in the U.S. Army, Dennis Gallagher pulled him aside for a little chat.

"Matt, the world is very different today than it was four years ago when you decided to pursue the ROTC road for your education," Dennis Gallagher told him. "You haven't taken your oath and the Army could be reimbursed for the cost of your education."

Matthew looked into his father's eyes.

"No, Dad," he replied. "I have a duty to our country."

And so it was that Matthew, a bookish, at times goofy lad -- "He was not a GI Joe type of kid," his father noted -- became Lt. Matthew S. Gallagher in May 2005.

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There's a reason most soldiers grow up in rougher neighborhoods than this. There's a reason most soldiers grow up hunting deer in the woods instead of hunting for the right-sized designer tee shirt at Abercrombie & Fitch. And there's a reason most soldiers come from the breadbasket of rural America and not from west coast suburbs: we want to win the wars.

-- Lt. G, Nov. 17, 2007