Patriot Guard Riders escort the motorcade as it enters East Lawn Palms Mortuary & Cemetery for the memorial service for Cpl. Charles P. Gaffney Jr.

Photos by A.E. Araiza / arizona daily star

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Ex-Tucson soldier died Christmas Eve in Afghan combat

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Few of those who stood in the rain for hours Sunday afternoon ever knew Cpl. Charles P. Gaffney Jr.

Yet more than 100 men and women stood outside a memorial service for the fallen soldier and braved the weather as they held American flags and fought back the shivers when the breeze kicked up.

Gaffney, 42, was killed in Afghanistan Christmas Eve when his combat outpost came under enemy fire, according to the Department of Defense.

He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

Dozens of motorcyclists from the Patriot Guard Riders awaited the Gaffney family at East Lawn Palms Mortuary & Cemetery on East Grant Road.

Gaffney and his family moved to Tucson in the late '70s, his father told the Star last week. Gaffney joined the Army in the mid-'80s. He served about six years, spending most of that time in Germany, and then returned to Tucson, where he worked at several Midtown auto shops.

Gaffney moved to Phoenix several years ago and joined his parents.

He went to Iraq in 2006-07 and was part of security forces outside Baghdad, his father said. He joined up again and was sent to Afghanistan in October.

He was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart, his father said, for his recent service.

Gaffney will be buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery

He is survived by his father, Charles P. Gaffney Sr.; mother, Fina; wife, Latticia; twin 4-year-old daughters, Cara and Mia; brother, Jason; and two sisters, Bethany and Maryanne. He was preceded in death by his sister Catherine.