Back in 1953, a 19-year-old James Gallegos decided he didn't want to wait and be drafted by the Army. So the 105-pounder with a 26-inch waist joined the Marines instead. At 5-feet, 3-inches tall, Gallegos barely met the weight requirement.

He spent three years on active duty, mostly in Japan, in those uncertain times after the end of the Korean War. After serving, he came back to Santa Fe, fell in love, married and went to work as a barber. He and his wife, Tonie Ann, have been married for 50 years and have two daughters. Both have master's degrees.

Through the decades, Gallegos never forgot his service to his country. It inspires him. He began visiting veterans in the hospitals, working as a chaplain for the Veterans of Foreign Wars since 1973, helping bury his comrades at the Santa Fe National Cemetery.

Service, abroad and at home, has defined his life.

"He reaches out to those veterans who do not have any family or friends and have for some reason been forgotten by most," wrote his daughter, Melissa Sanchez, in nominating her father to be one of Santa Fe's Ten Who Made a Difference. "Taking the time to visit and hear their stories and allow them the dignity to have someone who cares what they have to say makes him an inspiration for us all."

Born and raised in the village of Agua Fría, Gallegos grew up in the shadow of the San Isidro Catholic Church. His house was right next door; his grandfather had donated the land on which the church was built.

In the 1930s, Agua Fría was truly rural, and the young boy grew up plowing fields and feeding the animals. He learned to work, developing a stamina that served him well in the Marine Corps.

"The other guys, they used to admire me," he said, remembering five-mile runs in full gear. His gun weighed more than he did. "'Where do you get all your energy from?' they would ask. The guys who were 6'4'', 6'7'' — they got winded. I would tell them, 'I come from a high altitude.'"

More than that, Gallegos had the attitude that he and his buddies were in the same boat, all facing the rigorous training together.

"I was in a company," he said. "We were all doing the same thing. I wasn't the only one."

That feeling of belonging to a company never left him. His fellow veterans are like family, and because they are family, Gallegos won't let them face troubles alone.

He sits by their hospital bed, letting them talk, hearing their stories. He stands by their gravesides, accompanying them on that final journey. He chats with them at the local VFW: "The war never ends there."

At the veterans hospital in Albuquerque alone, he has volunteered almost 14,000 hours. As he joked, "the car knows the way."

"After work, he would go to a funeral, to the hospital to visit patients. He just keeps giving back," said his wife, who met her husband while still in high school. She was working behind the counter at the old Capitol Pharmacy downtown when Gallegos was home on leave.

"He passed by with his friend, Manuel. I knew Manuel from somewhere, and they came in and started talking," she said. He returned to service, she continued with school, dating and almost marrying someone else.

Instead, The couple ran into each other one Thanksgiving and began dating. They were married Aug. 11, 1959, at Our Lady Of Guadalupe Church.

That same year, Gallegos started working at Paul's Barber Shop on Cerrillos Road. He retired — from Paul's Barber Shop — in the year 2000. Along the way, he recruited four of his customers to join the Marines, earning him a certificate of recognition from the service. "I had a captive audience," he explained, his wry sense of humor surfacing again.

Just as constant was his volunteer service. He began volunteering at the veterans hospital in 1973, "mostly visiting the patients."

He joined the color guard, assisting at burials, one of 25 in the group today. "We feel like by being there we are bringing dignity to the funeral and the relatives are glad we are there," Gallegos said.

Now, he's spent so much time at the National Cemetery, his wife said, "I told him he's going to be very happy at the National Cemetery."

In addition to his volunteer work with veterans, Gallegos is an Extraordinary Minister of the Holy Communion at St. Anne's Catholic Church and is a Third-Degree member of the Knights of Columbus. His volunteer work with the elderly earned him a letter of commendation and thanks from former Archbishop Robert Sanchez in 1987.

Another letter, this one from former President George Bush, congratulated Gallegos for receiving the President's Volunteer Service Award in 2004. He's also the recipient of the Unsung Hero Award for dedicated support of the volunteer program at the VA Medical Center in Albuquerque. His name has been placed on the wall of honor at the Chapel of Four Chaplains in Philadelphia for his service as a chaplain.

And that's a short list of the many accolades he has garnered over the past three decades. Gallegos, brought up to help his family and his community, honed his notions of service while in the Marines. He left the corps as a sergeant and never forgot the lessons learned. As a civilian, he has spent his entire life giving back. His daughter, Sanchez, put it best. Her dad is known "for going the extra mile to make others feel good about themselves. He fully understands that life has more to offer in giving back to others."

Contact Inez Russell at 986-3093 or irussell@sfnewmexican.com.