John A. Chapman

Chapman retrained into the combat control career field and served with the 1721st Combat Control Squadron at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina from August 1990 to November 1992.

His final assignment was with the 24th Special Tactics Squadron at Pope Air Force Base.

John Allan Chapman (July 14, 1965 – March 4, 2002) was a combat controller in the United States Air Force who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on August 22, 2018, for his actions in the Battle of Takur Ghar during the War in Afghanistan.

He is the first airman to receive the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War.

John Chapman was born July 14, 1965, in Springfield, Massachusetts to Eugene and Terry Chapman and grew up in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.

He had two sisters, Lori and Tammy, and a brother, Kevin.

He graduated from Windsor Locks High School in 1983.

Chapman enlisted in the United States Air Force on September 27, 1985, and was trained as an information systems operator.

His first assignment was with the 1987th Information Systems Squadron at Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado from February 1986 to June 1989.

He was a Special Tactics team member with the 320th Special Tactics Squadron at Kadena Air Base on Okinawa from November 1992 to October 1995.

On March 4, 2002, Chapman and members of the United States Navy SEALs took part in Operation Anaconda.

A Boeing CH-47 Chinook came under enemy fire, causing Navy SEAL Neil C. Roberts to fall.

The helicopter landed 4.5 mi away from where Roberts was killed.

Once on the ground, Chapman provided directions to another helicopter to pick them up.

He and the team volunteered to rescue Roberts from the enemy stronghold.

Upon returning to recover Roberts, the team came under fire from three directions.

Chapman charged forward, killing two enemy soldiers and advancing towards a defensive fighting position from minimal personal cover, and he received multiple wounds.

His engagement and destruction of the first enemy position and advancement to the second enabled his team to move to cover and break enemy contact.

He is credited with saving the lives of the entire rescue team.

Chapman was posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross.

The citation for the award reads:

"The President of the United States of America, authorized by Title 10, Section 8742, U.S.C., awards the Air Force Cross to TSgt John Chapman for extraordinary heroism in military operation against an armed enemy of the United States as a 24th Special Tactics Squadron, combat controller in the vicinity of Gardez, in the eastern highlands of Afghanistan, on March 4, 2002. On this date, during his helicopter insertion for a reconnaissance and time sensitive targeting close air support mission, Sergeant Chapman's aircraft came under heavy machine gun fire and received a direct hit from a rocket propelled grenade which caused a United States Navy sea-air-land team member to fall from the aircraft. Though heavily damaged, the aircraft egressed the area and made an emergency landing seven kilometers away. Once on the ground Sergeant Chapman established communication with an AC-130 gunship to ensure the area was secure while providing close air support coverage for the entire team.

He then directed the gunship to begin the search for the missing team member.

He requested, coordinated, and controlled the helicopter that extracted the stranded team and aircrew members.

These actions limited the exposure of the aircrew and team to hostile fire.

Without regard for his own life Sergeant Chapman volunteered to rescue his missing team member from an enemy strong hold.

Shortly after insertion, the team made contact with the enemy.

Sergeant Chapman engaged and killed two enemy personnel.

He continued to advance reaching the enemy position then engaged a second enemy position, a dug-in machine gun nest.

At this time, the rescue team came under effective enemy fire from three directions.

From close range he exchanged fire with the enemy from minimum personal cover until he succumbed to multiple wounds.

His engagement and destruction of the first enemy position and advancement on the second position enabled his team to move to cover and break enemy contact.

In his own words, his Navy sea-air-land team leader credits Sergeant Chapman unequivocally with saving the lives of the entire rescue team.

Through his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, aggressiveness in the face of the enemy, and the dedication to the service of his country, Sergeant Chapman reflects the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force."

Fourteen years after Chapman's death, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James began pushing for a Medal of Honor, the military's highest award, after new technology that allowed a deeper analysis of video of the battle suggested Chapman regained consciousness and resumed fighting Al-Qaeda members who were coming toward him from three directions.

Chapman may have crawled into a bunker, shot and killed an enemy charging at him and then killed another enemy fighter in hand-to-hand combat.

While the Air Force pushed for Chapman To be recognized, Naval Special Warfare Command allegedly attempted to block Chapman's Medal of Honor as it would result in an admission that Chapman had been left behind.

He was inducted into the Hall of Heroes on August 23, 2018, and posthumously promoted to Master Sergeant on the following day.

Chapman was also the first Air Force combat controller to be awarded the Air Force Cross.

His award was subsequently upgraded to the Medal of Honor.