Canadian volunteer John Gallagher, killed fighting ISIS with Kurdish fighters, will get the same highway welcome home as fallen military soldiers Friday, when his body is returned to Southwestern Ontario.
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Gallagher will depart Mackinnon & Bowes Funeral home located at 162 Wicksteed Ave.at noon and head up Leslie Street to the 401.
John Gallagher, 32, was killed 16 days ago while serving as a volunteer fighter with a U.S.-backed Kurdish militia, known as the YPG.
He retired in 2005 when he learned there would be no overseas deployment in the near future, but after years of working and going to school, he decided in May to travel overseas to join the Kurds battling Islamic State militants. “They’ve been very supportive”.
Gallagher had once served in Bosnia under the Canadian Armed Forces. The Canadian government is assisting with transport of his body to Canada, but the procession is being spearheaded by the Canadian Heroes Foundation.
So far, a release from the Canadian Heroes Foundation does not include an estimated time of arrival in Blenheim, and the Blenheim Community Funeral Home’s website says the time of the service for Gallagher still has to be announced.
– People encouraged to wave Canadian flags and messages of support along overpasses and roadsides.
The procession will pass through London around 2 p.m. Members of London’s Firefighter Association will be standing at the Highway 4 overpass to pay their respects.
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But regardless of the circumstances, the Canadian Heroes Foundation – a group that has helped organize every repatriation since it was founded in 2009 – is encouraging Canadians to honour Gallagher by lining the bridges along the route between Toronto and Blenheim.
