Zachary Galli buried after fatal accident during military training

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — The family of 1st Lt. Zachary Galli laid him to rest Friday. The 23-year-old Williamsburg native died May 11 during an Army exercise at Fort Johnson in Louisiana. The Galli family invited 13News Now to attend the funeral.

Galli graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in kinesiology in 2022. According to his obituary, he was a member of the Christian fraternity Chi Alpha and the social fraternity Pi Kappa Phi.

Galli was trained in explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), the detection and defusing of explosives. His fellow officers say he was a natural. He attended EOD school at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. He was then transferred to Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

U.S. Navy Senior Chief Cliff Frazier spoke at the service at the Williamsburg Community Chapel on Friday. He said Galli was referred to as a “unicorn” at the EOD training academy. “Throughout the division and eventually throughout school, Zach never failed a single test,” Frazier said.

Travis Simone, senior pastor of Williamsburg Community Chapel, added: “He was unofficially dubbed the ‘unicorn.’ He passed 45 required tests on the first try.”

Frazier added that Galli was a joy to teach, saying, “I met Zach during a very intense, hour-long briefing on the dangers of explosive ordnance. There are usually two reactions to that briefing: fear or a challenge. Zach was hungry.”

According to Officer Frazier, Galli’s faith was also very important to him. The two were in a Bible study group together during Galli’s time in Florida. “Zach put his first priority on something eternal. He put his faith, his time and his effort into the truth of the gospel,” Frazier said.

Pastor Simone read a letter on behalf of the Galli family, sharing some of their memories of him. In one of them, Simone read, “Zach and his mother had a wonderful drive from Destin, Florida, to his new duty station at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs. Gail talked about the feelings of sadness and heartache. And Zach said the amount of sadness or heartache that was felt showed how much love there was.”

In another story: “Zach and Haley, his girlfriend, were at church one Sunday. The pastor asked, ‘If Jesus came today, would you be happy with your life?’ Later, Haley asked (Zach), ‘If Jesus came today, would he be happy with his life?’ Zach replied, yes, he was really happy with the life he had been living.”

Simone finished reading the letter and said, “The army has lost an officer who would have been a great leader, who was a great leader.”

Those attending the service also heard from Galli himself. In a recorded May 2020 video about the importance of Memorial Day, Galli told the camera, “Every decision we make and have ever made is made on the backs of people we don’t even know. They should be respected at the highest level, and that’s why Memorial Day is so important to me. It serves as a reminder to me and to everyone that it is through the sacrifices of other people that we can live our lives the way we do, freely.”

The memorial service ended with tattoos. Galli was buried with full military honors in Williamsburg Memorial Park on Friday afternoon.

According to his obituary, his military awards include the Army Service Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and Basic EOD Badge.

His obituary also suggests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Peninsula Rescue Mission in Newport News or the EOD Warrior Foundation.