09/05/2026
Gerald Galant entered the U.S. Army on April 1, 1969 serving with Company B, 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam.
On November 16, 1969, while out on patrol, a fellow soldier stepped on a land mine and was killed instantly. Debris from the explosion struck Galant in the arm and upper thigh, severing the popliteal artery in his right leg and shattering his knee. He was airlifted to Cu Chi, hospitalized for a month in Japan, and then spent six months in a full body cast at Valley Forge General Hospital, in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. His recovery required multiple surgeries.