Description

Antone "Tony" Gallaher came from a Navy family, and attended the Naval Academy at Annapolis. As a junior officer, Gallaher had twelve men directly under him, and about twenty-five other men administratively under him. In this interview, Gallaher explains the training he received at Annapolis and, later, San Diego. He started questioning the Navy and its goals while he had been at the Academy, but it was on his ship, the George K. McKenzie, that his thoughts began to crystallize. He put in an application to leave the Navy which was denied, so Tony had a civilian lawyer sue the Navy. Just before the case went to court, the Navy decided to give him an honorable discharge. Gallaher came to question the whole concept of war and later became a conscientious objector. Other topics discussed in this interview include: Gallaher's duties on board ship; racial minorities; the dock force and blacks; drugs; prostitution and venereal disease; separation from the opposite sex; dangers on the ship; a tour of duty in North Korean waters; politics and propaganda techniques used by the U.S. to build up morale on the ships; Gallaher's father's feelings about his discharge; and transition to civilian life.