PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. -- [Warning: This article contains discussions of domestic violence and child abuse, which may be unsuitable for some readers. It is recommended that individuals who are sensitive to these themes exercise caution while reading as the content may be disturbing or upsetting. Reader discretion is advised.]
For Chaplain Gallo, hardship and faith have always been inexorably linked. Greater levels of violence, calls for even stronger faith.
“My father was physically abusive in ways that not even an R-rated movie can show,” Maj. Matthew Gallo, Space Base Delta 1 deputy chaplain, said. “I grew up in a very violent home.”
Gallo was raised in the small town of Ramey, Pennsylvania; among the population of 427 people, Gallo grew up with his older brother, sister, mother and father. Illustrating the battleground he grew up in, Gallo described his mother being the one person who he felt offered him protection from the violent hands of his father.
“My mom was our angel and would physically throw her body in the way of my father’s’ fists that were aimed at myself and my brother,” he stated. “It was very normal to fall asleep every night listening to my mom and dad yelling at each other, and eventually the yelling would stop after my dad would beat her.”
After years of verbal and physical abuse, Gallo pushed through the violence and began to explore Christian faith, however, his feelings of unworthiness plagued his mind, screaming at him to sprint in the opposite direction, becoming a theme in his life.
“I became a Christian at 11 and thoroughly started running from it at 15. I didn’t stop until I was 22,” Gallo stated. “I always felt called to go this path; I was just avoiding it.”
The abuse that shook the walls of their home continued until Gallo graduated high school and enlisted in the U.S. Air Force as an air transportation specialist. What he didn’t realize was that in four short months after signing his name on the dotted line, he would be entering a new type of battleground.
Following the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, deployments to the Middle East became a never-ending rotation of revolving doors for Gallo. Iraq and Kuwait - these locations hold many memories for Gallo. Some joyous, others haunting, pushing him to begin planning his transition to civilian life.
He made great strides to earn his pilot's license and had his plan all mapped out. Learn to fly, travel to South America, and become a missionary pilot. It was simple, and he was hungry to start his new journey.
However, two weeks before his contract was to end, Staff Sgt. Gallo humbly walked into the military personnel flight office to reenlist. Orders to McGuire Air Force Base followed quickly.
“Where is that?” he asked inquisitively. They responded with a prompt “New Jersey.”
His body sunk as he disappointedly repeated, “No...no,” as if his pleas would change the outcome.
He had been stationed in Alaska for four years,; surrounded by green, lush trees and vibrantly cold winters. He admired the solitude that Alaska provided him. Forced to be hypervigilant as a child, Alaska afforded him the opportunity to slow down and reconnect with nature. Gallo felt as though God had taken away all his toys. The vast, mountainous terrain in Alaska was no longer his to enjoy. However, he came to learn that he was right where he needed to be.
“Once I got there, I really grew up in a lot of ways. God put me in a place that was really uncomfortable for me; we were deploying every 18 months and we were getting shot at -- it was just normal.”
After settling into his new home in New Jersey, Gallo headed out the door again to Kuwait. This deployment was memorable for one particular reason. He recalled, “God said, ‘You will go be an active-duty Air Force chaplain.’” Feeling conflicted by this new direction, after having worked so hard to become a missionary pilot, he ceased his mental gymnastics and embraced his new calling.
“After our wrestling match, God broke my heart in such a way that I thought, ‘Why would I ever want to do anything other than military chaplaincy?’” Gallo reflected.
[Maj. Matthew Gallo currently serves as the Space Base Delta 1 deputy chaplain]
Read part 2 here.
Read part 3 here.