Capt. John P. Gaffaney Memorial

The 807th Medical Command of the U.S. Army Reserve invites the public to the memorialization of the Garden Grove Army Reserve Center in honor of Captain John A. Gaffaney.

Captain John A. Gaffaney was killed on Nov. 5, 2009, in the infamous shooting at Fort Hood, Texas. Gaffaney was fatally wounded when he tried to disarm the assailant by throwing a folding chair at him during the attack. He was posthumously awarded the Soldier’s Medal for his heroic actions.

Gaffaney, a resident of San Diego, had served over 20 years in the California National Guard and U.S. Navy, and had retired from military service. He rejoined the armed forces in the Army Reserve to deploy to Iraq as a psychiatric nurse.

Gaffaney’s name is among the 13 people on a memorial stone in the memorial garden at Fort Hood, and one of five Army Reserve Soldiers killed in the attack.

For his heroism and the example he set with his actions both on Nov. 5 and throughout his career, the 2nd Medical Brigade of the 807th Medical Command, requested that the Army Reserve Center in Garden Grove be dedicated as a memorial to Gaffaney. The center is home to six medical units of the 807th Medical Command.