Fort Hood 13: Maj. John Gaffaney
(Taken from signonsandiego.com) Army Capt. John Gaffaney loved collecting baseball cards, reading military novels, restoring his 1965 Mustang and riding his Harley-Davidson.
He worked hard at helping the elderly through his job in San Diego County's Adult Protective Services department. Above all else, he cared about his family and his flag.
Bound for Iraq with an Army Reserve unit at age 56, Gaffaney lost his life Thursday in the shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, one day after he arrived there. His wife, Christine, received a military officer's grim knock on the door of their Serra Mesa home even before he reached foreign soil.
“John would want others to know that he loved his family and his country,” Christine Gaffaney and her son, Matthew, said in a statement released through the California Army National Guard. “He died doing something he believed in.”
Gaffaney was born in Williston, N.D., and grew up in the Pacific Northwest before earning nursing degrees in San Diego. His father was a Korean War veteran.
He enlisted in the Navy in 1973 and served for five years. In 1984, missing military life, he joined the 40th Infantry Division of the California National Guard and eventually retired as a major in 1999.
Trained as a psychiatric nurse, Gaffaney also started work with the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency 22 years ago. He spent most of his civilian career in Adult Protective Services, investigating cases of neglect or abuse of the elderly.
His skills and personality made him perfectly suited for his job, said longtime colleague Ellen Schmeding.
“He was very kind, very hardworking,” she said. “We lose count of all the people he was able to help.”
Schmeding said Gaffaney focused on helping foreign-born seniors who wanted to return to their homelands.
Gaffaney headed a group of roughly a dozen workers at a county office on Rosecrans Street in San Diego's Midway district. Grief counselors arrived there early yesterday to help his co-workers cope with the loss, Schmeding said.
The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks made Gaffaney determined to serve again, said Schmeding, who is assistant deputy director for the county's office of Aging and Independence Services.
“He very much wanted to get back in the military after 9/11,” Schmeding said. “He felt he had something to offer.”
Three years ago, Gaffaney signed up for the Army Reserve, hoping to counsel soldiers who are dealing with the trauma of war. He was assigned to a medical detachment specializing in the treatment of combat stress. The Army called him to active duty earlier this year.
Gaffaney said goodbye to his friends at Adult Protective Services in mid-October.
“Everyone really respected his dedication and admired his decision to reactivate,” Schmeding said.
Gaffaney arrived at Fort Hood and was in the base's Soldier Readiness Center on Thursday taking care of some details before leaving for Iraq.
He died along with 11 other soldiers and one civilian during the killing spree of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, authorities say. Hasan was also a combat stress counselor and, according to family members, was fiercely resisting orders to deploy to the war zone.
“It is difficult for us to think beyond our grief,” the Gaffaneys said in their statement. “We love him so very much and will miss him, always.”
He worked hard at helping the elderly through his job in San Diego County's Adult Protective Services department. Above all else, he cared about his family and his flag.
Bound for Iraq with an Army Reserve unit at age 56, Gaffaney lost his life Thursday in the shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, one day after he arrived there. His wife, Christine, received a military officer's grim knock on the door of their Serra Mesa home even before he reached foreign soil.
“John would want others to know that he loved his family and his country,” Christine Gaffaney and her son, Matthew, said in a statement released through the California Army National Guard. “He died doing something he believed in.”
Gaffaney was born in Williston, N.D., and grew up in the Pacific Northwest before earning nursing degrees in San Diego. His father was a Korean War veteran.
He enlisted in the Navy in 1973 and served for five years. In 1984, missing military life, he joined the 40th Infantry Division of the California National Guard and eventually retired as a major in 1999.
Trained as a psychiatric nurse, Gaffaney also started work with the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency 22 years ago. He spent most of his civilian career in Adult Protective Services, investigating cases of neglect or abuse of the elderly.
His skills and personality made him perfectly suited for his job, said longtime colleague Ellen Schmeding.
“He was very kind, very hardworking,” she said. “We lose count of all the people he was able to help.”
Schmeding said Gaffaney focused on helping foreign-born seniors who wanted to return to their homelands.
Gaffaney headed a group of roughly a dozen workers at a county office on Rosecrans Street in San Diego's Midway district. Grief counselors arrived there early yesterday to help his co-workers cope with the loss, Schmeding said.
The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks made Gaffaney determined to serve again, said Schmeding, who is assistant deputy director for the county's office of Aging and Independence Services.
“He very much wanted to get back in the military after 9/11,” Schmeding said. “He felt he had something to offer.”
Three years ago, Gaffaney signed up for the Army Reserve, hoping to counsel soldiers who are dealing with the trauma of war. He was assigned to a medical detachment specializing in the treatment of combat stress. The Army called him to active duty earlier this year.
Gaffaney said goodbye to his friends at Adult Protective Services in mid-October.
“Everyone really respected his dedication and admired his decision to reactivate,” Schmeding said.
Gaffaney arrived at Fort Hood and was in the base's Soldier Readiness Center on Thursday taking care of some details before leaving for Iraq.
He died along with 11 other soldiers and one civilian during the killing spree of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, authorities say. Hasan was also a combat stress counselor and, according to family members, was fiercely resisting orders to deploy to the war zone.
“It is difficult for us to think beyond our grief,” the Gaffaneys said in their statement. “We love him so very much and will miss him, always.”
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