Grafenwöhr mourns Army chaplain killed in N.C. accident
GRAFENWÖHR, Germany — Friends and former peers of an Army chaplain killed this month in an accident near Fort Bragg, N.C., gathered here to remember him during a Tuesday ceremony.
Capt. Shane Stauffer, 46, served as unit chaplain for the Grafenwöhr-based 18th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion for three years, ending in June last year, according to the unit. He died earlier this month after he was struck by a vehicle while jogging outside the base.
Stauffer had recently arrived at Fort Bragg as part of the 28th Combat Support Hospital, according to the 18th CSSB’s current chaplain, Capt. Andrew Shulman. Shulman organized Tuesday’s ceremony after witnessing the battalion’s reaction to Stauffer’s death.
“He was here for three years and really involved,” Shulman said. “A lot of people remember him and were broken up at the news.”
Several dozen attendees gathered at the chapel annex for Tuesday’s ceremony, which featured personal tributes from battalion members and friends, a guestbook for the family and an opportunity for attendees to donate to a fund for Stauffer’s children.
Speakers described Stauffer as a chaplain eager to help, enthusiastic for the Old Testament and quick to give a bear hug or a kiss on the cheek.
“Had this been a year and a half ago, I think this would have had a devastating effect on the unit,” Chief Warrant Officer 2 Marshall Goodman told the crowd. “Because the chaplain was everywhere.”
