Richard Gallagher was born in 1921 in Buffalo, Erie County, New York. He resided in Erie County, New York prior to the war. Richard enlisted in the Army on March 4, 1942 in Buffalo, New York. He was noted as being employed as a sheet metal worker and also as Single, without dependents.

On 18 March 1944, two B-24 Liberators from the 392nd Bomb Group, 576th and 577th Bomber Squadrons, were involved in a horrific mid-air collision over the Oise department in France. Amblin Oakie, Aircraft #41-29174, on its 25th mission, and Aircraft 41-28651 (no nickname) on its 9th mission both took off from the UK at around 10am on 18 March 1944, along with 26 other aircraft, on a bombing mission to Friedrichshafen. Amblin Oakie was caught in violent propeller wash from the other craft as it fell out of formation. The collision occurred at 1253. On Amblin Oakie a section of the right wing torn off behind the #4 engine as well as a portion of the tail assembly. The other plane lost its left tail section and both wings. Gallagher was a machine gunner in the Aircraft 41-28651 and was killed just outside Le Ployron, France in crash.