The controversial recent decisions involving the execution of Fort Hood convicted mass murderer Nidal Hasan have brought back nightmares to a West Fargo woman.
One of the people Hasan killed was John Gaffaney, 56, the brother of West Fargo’s Michele Vannote, a former longtime elementary school principal in Fargo.
“John was all about serving others, “Michele told me. “Service to family, service to country, and service to God. He was a happy and wonderful man with a great heart and sense of humor…We were very close. We were best friends forever.”
John Gaffaney with his sisters Michele Vannote (center) and Joan Williams, just a few months before John was shot to death at Fort Hood
John graduated from Williston, North Dakota High School in 1971. After that, he attended Seattle Pacific College in Washington for two years, before entering the Navy. He did basic training, Neuropsychiatric training, and spent two years at the Naval Hospital working on a psychiatric ward as a technician.
He received an honorable discharge from the Navy in 1978, and then went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Western Washington University.
John returned to the military in 1984, as a specialist in the Army National Guard. He quickly moved up the ranks and retired in 1999 as a major. While in the National Guard, he received a master’s degree in clinical psychology and a R.N. (nursing) degree.
John made his home in San Diego, and worked for the county by serving seniors and people with disabilities who were victims of abuse and neglect.
John was devoted to his wife, Christine, and their son, Matthew. He was passionate about the San Diego Padres, and had season tickets to their games for 21 years.
After the horrific attacks on 9/11, John felt compelled to re-enter the military, even though he was 48-years-old and had a slight hearing loss. He re-entered the Army Reserve Corps as a psychiatric nurse with the rank of captain.
On November 4, 2009, John made it to Fort Hood, near Killeen, Texas. The next day, he was to start five days of processing, which meant everything from receiving stress tests and shots to filling out lots of paperwork.
After that, John was scheduled to go home for Thanksgiving, and then go to Afghanistan.
So, on November 5, 2009, John reported to Fort Hood’s Soldier Readiness Processing Center. Also entering the center was Army Major Nidal Hasan, a psychiatrist, who was also being deployed to Afghanistan.
Unbeknownst to the others, Hasan was carrying an FN 5-7 semiautomatic pistol, 20 and 30-round magazines, and two LaserMax laser sights. Those laser sights project a dot onto your target, and help shoot faster and more accurately, especially in low-light situations.
Courtesy: People Magazine
Shortly after entering, Hasan went behind a desk, bowed his head for several seconds, stood up, shouted, “Allahu Akbar,” meaning “God is Great,” and opened fire at the unarmed soldiers in the room.
The bullets were coming fast, and several soldiers were quickly shot to death. John was lying on the floor in a pool of blood. When Hasan changed his clip, John rushed him with a folding chair in his hand.
Hasan spotted him, and shot John seven times in the chest. John was dead.
Hasan continued shooting for 10 minutes. The shooting stopped when civilian police Sergeant Mark Todd shot Hasan four times. Hasan survived, but he is paralyzed from the waist down.
Courtesy: People Magazine
In all, Hasan fired 146 rounds inside the building, and dozens more outside during the carnage.
Hasan murdered 13 people, and wounded 32 others.
Michele was ushering at the Fargo Theatre that day. When she came home, she turned on the news, and learned there was a massacre at Fort Hood.
She then called Christine, John’s wife. John and Christine’s son, Matthew, picked up the phone and told Michele that a military pastor had just come to their house, and told them that John was killed at Fort Hood.
“I started crying. I was totally shocked,” Michele said. “I had just talked to him the night before.”
John’s funeral was nine days after the mass shootings.
“I was incredibly sad, but very proud of my brother,” Michele said. “He did what he loved to do. He tried to save others. He had to do something.”
John’s wife and son accepting an American flag at John’s funeral. Photo: Courtesy of the Cape Cod Times.
John’s courage was noticed by others. Exactly one year after the shootings, the Soldier’s Medal was awarded posthumously to John.
Also, one year to the date of the shootings, Hasan went on trial for 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder. The trial lasted one week. Michele, her sister Joan, and John’s wife Chrstine attended every day.
“I wanted to hear every detail of that story,” Michele said. “Having been so angry, I wanted to see the man who committed these grievous acts.”
During the trial, there were very graphic descriptions of the wounds John and everyone else suffered.
“It took your breath away,” Michele said. “I didn’t know how many times John had been shot until the trial. I was in shock…I kept my eyes on Hasan. I couldn’t fathom what kind of a person would do this.”
Before the verdict, the families of the victims were asked if they favored the death penalty for Hasan. In order for a death penalty to be ordered, there had to be unanimous support for it from the families.
“I am a person who doesn’t agree with the death penalty,” Michele said. “It’s killing another person…In this case, because so many people were emotionally wounded or killed, I couldn’t stand in the way of the majority of people voting for the death penalty.”
Hasan was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to death.
Still, with his many appeals, Hasan remains alive today.
President Barack Obama looking at John Gaffaney’s memorial. Courtesy of Michele Vannote.
“He’s been able to live 17 years longer than his victims,” Michele said. “He’s been fed. I will be glad when it’s done.”
Presumably, Hasan has less than a month to live. President Donald Trump signed an order for Hasan’s execution to take place on December 3rd.
Shortly after signing the order, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the execution would be livestreamed. Trump has since canceled the livestream.
“The idea of livestreaming the execution was barbaric,” Michele said. “It’s what Hasan wants. He wants to be a martyr. He wants the U.S. to act like terrorists. And to have him sitting in a wheelchair would have made it look worse and given sound bites to the terrorists.”
Still, the Defense Department has called her twice, asking if she would like to witness the execution in-person.
Michele Vannote
“I said no. I don’t want to be present,” Michele said. “It’s too painful and I cannot watch an execution. It would probably kill me. I will not be watching the news that day.”
All the recent news stories about the Fort Hood massacre, Hasan, and his execution, have been very traumatic for Michele.
“It makes me sick to my stomach to have it back in the news,” Michele said. “All of these images come back to me. They were such victims. They couldn’t defend themselves. They were defenseless.”
However, one thing Michele can never forget is her brother, John.
“I just think about my brother all the time,” Michele said. “He was the best brother ever. I miss him very much. He was so much fun to be with.”
Here’s the full interview with Michele Vannote that you can listen to.
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