President Bill Clinton, speech on the dedication of the Roosevelt Memorial, West Potomac Park, May 2, 1997. MSS-185.

Gallagher and the National Organization on Disability led the fight to have Roosevelt depicted in a wheelchair at his memorial in Washington. Those who opposed this characterization of the president pointed out that Roosevelt went to great lengths to hide his disability during his lifetime, and would not want his memorial to reflect what he tried to hide. Gallagher and the disability advocates disagreed, stating that Roosevelt was never ashamed of his disability. Gallagher’s argument won, and a wheelchair-bound Roosevelt was later added to the memorial. This speech, delivered by President Clinton at the dedication ceremony, was autographed for Gallagher and given to him by the president in recognition of Gallagher’s efforts to depict Roosevelt as he was.