US Air Force Msgt. John Chapman - Medal of Honor Recipient during Operation Enduring Freedom

Msgt. John A Chapman

Welcome back everyone.  In this episode of Duty & Valor, I’ll tell you the story of a man who, along with the rest of his team, volunteered to be reinserted onto a mountain side, surrounded by enemies, in an effort to rescue one of their own.  A man who faced heavy fire and led his unit through thigh-high snow towards the enemy.  A man who would clear an enemy bunker and kill the occupying combatants.  A man who would fall due to his wounds, but would regain consciousness to find himself alone and surrounded by enemy fighters.  This is the story of Medal of Honor recipient US Air Force Msgt. John A. Chapman.

Born on July 14th, 1965 in Springfield, MA,  John Allan Chapman was one of four siblings born to parents Eugene and Terry Chapman.  John would grow up in Windsor Locks CT,  just north of Harford.  He was an accomplished athlete in soccer and diving, and he would go on to join the dive team at the University of Ct where he majored in engineering before leaving school after his first semester.  Wanting to do something different with his life, John would enlist in the US Air Force in September of 1985.  

Upon completing basic military and technical training, he would first be stationed at Lowry Air Force Base in Colorado as an information systems operator.  This desk job wasn’t what he really wanted in a military career so he would go on to train for, test, and become accepted into the training school known as “Indoc”.  Indoc was where candidates for Combat Control and Pararescue special forces were put through some of the most rigorous training among all special forces in the US military.  It was reported that John and friend Joe Maynor were the only two Combat Control Team members to graduate in July 1990.     

Air Force Combat Control Teams are one of the lesser known special operations forces in our military.  In a very brief overview, they are elite and highly trained operators who are specialized in air-ground communication, air traffic control, reconnaissance, search and rescue, and fire support among other capabilities from covert locations behind enemy lines, which is why they have the motto of “First There”.

Another major event in Sgt. Chapman’s life also occurred in 1990, when he met his future wife.  While on leave in PA, he would meet Valerie Novak, a nursing student from Winder, PA and the two would go on to have two daughters named Madison and Brianna. 

Sgt. Chapman would go on to be assigned to units based at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina, Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Japan, before finding himself back in North Carolina.  It was reported that Sgt. Chapman was looking to end his military career before the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 would change his plans.  As other from the 24th Special Tactics Squadron were assigned to support to imminent war on terror, Sgt. Chapman would find himself attached to SEAL Team Six of the US Navy.  But soon the death of his grandmother would see him taking emergency leave to tend to his family, so his deployment to Afghanistan was temporarily delayed.  

In March 2002, Sgt. Daly, and the Navy Seal Team which he was assigned to, were part of Operation Anaconda, which was a large-scale battle between US Coalition forces against Al-Qaeda and Taliban forces during Operation Enduring Freedom.  They were tasked with setting up fighting positions on Takur Ghar, which is a mountain in the Arma Mountain range in South Eastern Afghanistan. 

On the night of March 4th, Razer 3, the Chinook helicopter bringing Sgt. Daly and the Navy Seals to the top of the mountain came under heavy fire.  While Razer 3 was trying to evade rocket propelled grenades, along with small arms and machine gun fire, Navy Seal Petty Officer First Class Neil Roberts fell out of the helicopter.  The helicopter was then forced to land 4.5 miles away from where Roberts had fallen.  Immediately after being forced to land, the Sgt. Chapman, along with all of the Navy Seals, all wanted to immediately get back to where Petty Officer Roberts had fallen.  So Sgt. Chapman began relaying their coordinates to another helicopter to pick them up.  

In a first for our Nation, Sgt. Chapman’s Medal of Honor actions would be recorded on video.  As the battle was raging, a CIA Predator Drone was circling overhead, giving leadership a birds eye view of the battlefield.  As soon as the men were aboard, the helicopter quickly brought them back and inserted them meters from where they believed to be Petty Officer Roberts' location.  As soon as they exited the helicopter, they were fired upon from at least three directions.  Though moving through thigh high snow, Sgt. Chapman is seen making his way directly toward an occupied bunker.   Undeterred, he continued to make his way toward the two fighters who were firing at him and the other men from the advantage of an elevated position.  He was able to overrun their position on his own and kill both of the men.

Within meters of the cleared bunker was a second bunker which was occupied several enemy fighters.  These men were more heavily armed than those in the first bunker.  Along with AK-47’s, they also had grenades, rocket propelled grenades, and a heavy machine gun.  The video then shows that Sgt. Chapman, who was followed closely behind by his team leader, began to engage the second bunker.  As they moved forward, Sgt. Chapman was hit twice by enemy fire and fell into the first bunker.  The rest of the Navy Seal Team continued firing on the bunker, but weren’t able to secure it as they were suffering additional casualties.  The Seals knew they were facing a situation that they could not overcome.  The enemy had the firepower to inflict more casualties and keep them from advancing any further.  Knowing they could not recover the bodies of Petty Officer Roberts and Sgt Chapman, the decision was made to make a tactical retreat down the mountain in order to save the lives of the remaining team members.    

Once at a safer distance, the Seals called in an airstrike on the enemy positions from an Air Force AC-130 gunship.  The enemy on the ridge faced a relentless barrage of  105mm howitzer rounds fired from the gunship.  This enabled the Seals to continue their retreat, which spared them additional losses.  Though not all enemy combatants were neutralized by the airstrikes. 

Unknown to the Seal Team, there was one other person on that ridge that was still alive.  Thought to have been killed in action, Sgt. Chapman regained consciousness and began to engage the remaining enemy.  Though bleeding heavily and mortally wounded from at least one of the two rounds, he was able to continue to fight on against at least two dozen men.  Astounded by what they would hear, Sgt. Chapman was able to place radio calls which were heard from other special forces operators in the area.  For unknown reasons, he was never able to respond directly to any attempts made to communicate back to him.     

The drone footage shows Sgt. Chapman engaging the enemy from a position within the first bunker which he had cleared earlier in the night.  While firing at him, an enemy fighter is seen making his way towards the bunker in an attempt to kill Sgt. Chapman.  Footage would go on show Sgt. Chapman fighting the enemy in hand to hand combat.  While fighting for his life, many other enemy fighters were making their way towards his position. 

At this time, Sgt. Chapman heard an incoming helicopter and his fight changed from one of only self preservation, to one which added support for the approaching Quick Reaction Force.  Though knowing he was low on ammunition, he would leave the bunker and lay down fire in all directions.  Now suffering from as many twelve wounds, Sgt. Chapman continued his fight, even after the helicopter was hit by a rocket propelled grenade.  The helicopter was able to make a controlled landing just down hill of Sgt. Chapman’s position.  He would continue to lay down suppressive fire in an attempt to protect the other men.  Unfortunately, as the Quick Reaction Force exits the helicopter, some of the men are shot and killed.  

The video would go on to show Sgt. Chapman fighting the enemy at close quarters before succumbing to his wounds.  In total he sustained 16 wounds, including the fatal shot he received through his heart.  His actions were attributed to saving the lives of 23 American servicemen.  On his last day, Sgt. Chapman exemplified his yearbook quote in which he wrote “give yourself before asking of someone else”.    

Sgt. Chapman would receive the Air Force Cross for his selfless actions upon that ridge that day.  Though this award would be upgraded to the Medal of Honor 16 years later.  On August 22nd, 2018, President Trump awarded the Medal of Honor to Sgt. Chapman’s widow Valerie. Also in attendance were his mother Terry, and John and Valerie’s daughters Briana and Madison.  On the following day, he was posthumously promoted to the rank of Master Sergeant.  In addition to the Medal of Honor, some of the awards that he received were a Purple Heart, Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Achievement Medal, and the Air Force Combat Action Medal.

Msgt. Chapman was laid to rest at Saint Mary’s Byzantine Catholic Church Cemetery in Windber, PA.   

If you would like to learn more about Msgt. Chapman’s story, there is a highly rated book that was written by Dan Schilling and Sgt. Chapman’s sister Lori Longritz titled Alone at Dawn.

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