Body of dead soldier from Fort Hood arrives in Miramar

The body of an Army Reservist from San Diego who was among the 13 people killed during the shooting rampage at Fort Hood in Texas was flown to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar Friday.

A small jet aircraft carrying the body of Capt. John Paul Gaffaney, 56, was met by a military honor guard on a flag-lined tarmac at MCAS Miramar.

Fellow soldiers, family and friends watched as the the aircraft arrived and Gaffaney’s wife Christine and son Matthew stood next to the coffin as it was placed in a hearse and driven away. A memorial service for Gaffaney, with full military honors, will be held tomorrow at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.

Gaffaney, who was born in Williston, N.D., was a psychiatric nurse in his civilian job. He most recently worked as a supervisor for the San Diego County Adult Protective Services Department, where he helped elderly victims of abuse and neglect. Gaffaney, who lived in Serra Mesa, had worked for the county for about two decades. He enlisted in the Navy in 1973 and served for five years.

In 1984, he joined the California National Guard and retired as a major in 1999. Three years ago he joined the Army Reserve. Gaffaney had just traveled to Fort Hood to prepare for a yearlong deployment to Iraq when on Nov. 5, Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan — who was also a military psychiatrist — allegedly opened fire in a packed health-services building. Gaffaney, 11 other soldiers and one civilian were killed in the massacre. Thirty others were wounded, and Hasan was wounded by a base police officer.

Hasan, 39, has been charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder. He is being treated at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, where his lawyer says he is paralyzed from the waist down. Hasan was born in the United States, but is a Muslim of Palestinian descent who was reportedly upset about being ordered to deploy to Afghanistan. Investigators are looking into whether he had terrorist ties or a mental breakdown.

This story was written and edited by City News Service.

Tags: army reservist, Fort Hood, marine corps, Miramar, SDNN

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