Dan Gallagher - 2012 Peacemaker Award honoree
The Jeannette Rankin Peace Center and the Missoula Peace Quilters have selected Dan Gallagher as the recipient for this year’s Peacemaker award. This is an award given each year to individuals and groups who demonstrate a long-term commitment to the process of peacemaking, who “walk the walk” to make the world better and who give leadership and inspiration to the rest of us.
Growing up on a farm near Charlo, MT, Dan was inspired by John F. Kennedy’s call to “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country”, Dan Gallagher served in Army in the Vietnam War and has since been a tireless advocate for veterans in the community. He is the Adjutant of the American Legion Post 101 and organizes events to honor and celebrate the sacrifices of veterans and their families throughout the year, most notably the annual Veterans Day ceremony at the Missoula County Courthouse. He was chosen for the honor of peacemaker because of his work over the last several years to build a bridge between the peace community and veterans, helping both to better understand the other perspective and lessen the animosity that divides the two groups.
Dan returned from the Vietnam War to face anti-war protesters who called him and his fellow veterans names and flashed angry signs at them, calling them “baby-killers” and other messages denigrating them as part of the war they were protesting. Like most returning veterans, he suffered the ghosts of war, and so Dan made a lifelong commitment to helping other veterans receive the support and services they need to heal. Dan Gallagher has been a practicing attorney in Missoula since 1993 and is a regular substitute teacher for Loyola High School.
Despite his experience connecting the peace sign with the angry protesters who greeted his return, Dan believed in his heart that veterans make the sacrifice to go to war to fight for peace. Over the years, he grew open-minded enough to come to terms with the protests of war and even to openly protest our involvement in the Iraq war. He is a strong advocate for the needs of ALL veterans and yet, he has been willing to go outside his “choir” to talk, to understand and to find peace. Since 1983, he has written and narrated a regular commentary for public radio called “Veterans Viewpoint” that helps build community and raise awareness about the needs of the veteran community. He has spoken at peace events, starred in the film being made about the Missoula peace sign, and including many voices for peace in his annual Veterans Day ceremonies. This work culminated in Dan engaging in a public conversation with the Peace Center about the divide that separates peace activists and veterans and subsequently courageously inviting the Director of the Jeannette Rankin Peace Center to speak at the 2011 Veterans Day ceremony last November. He is a true role model in breaking down the barriers that divide us and working to create understanding
We will celebrate Dan and his work as a peacemaker at an awards celebration on Sunday, April 29, 2012, 3-5 pm at Christ The King Catholic Church, 1400 Gerald in Missoula. The Missoula Peace Quilters have just completed a very special quilt for him, as they do for each of the award recipients. The quilt will be unveiled and presented at the celebration on April 29, and coffee and cake will be served at a reception afterward. The event is free and open to the public. It is our hope and Dan’s that we can come together as a whole community – veterans in uniform, peace activists, Dan’s friends and co-workers in Missoula and the Mission Valley as well as the general public.