John Allan Chapman

He stormed enemy bunkers, fighting on despite mortal wounds.

John Allan Chapman was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, on July 14, 1965, and grew up in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. He played varsity soccer and competed in diving before graduating from Windsor Locks High School in 1983. He enlisted in the United States Air Force on September 27, 1985, as an information systems operator, initially serving at Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado.

In 1989, Chapman volunteered for combat control training. He subsequently served at Pope Air Force Base and spent three years with the 320th Special Tactics Squadron in Okinawa, Japan, before joining the 24th Special Tactics Squadron. An experienced static-line and military free-fall parachutist and combat diver, he also qualified as a jumpmaster and dive supervisor. As a team leader, he prepared Special Tactics personnel for battlefield missions. He married Valerie Nessel in 1992, and they had two daughters, Madison and Brianna. Away from duty he enjoyed woodworking, project cars and hunting with his family.

On March 4, 2002, Technical Sergeant Chapman accompanied a Navy SEAL team on Takur Ghar, Afghanistan. After a teammate fell from their helicopter during an ambush, the team returned to attempt his rescue. Chapman charged and cleared an enemy bunker, then attacked a second position despite fire from several directions. Mortally wounded, he continued fighting before being killed, aged 36. He was buried in Windber, Pennsylvania.

His Air Force Cross for that action was upgraded to the Medal of Honor, presented to his widow on August 22, 2018. He was also posthumously promoted to Master Sergeant in 2018.

Medal of Honor citation

Technical Sergeant John A. Chapman distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism as an Air Force Special Tactics Combat Controller, attached to a Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Team conducting reconnaissance operations in Takur Ghar, Afghanistan, on March 4, 2002. During insertion, the team’s helicopter was ambushed causing a teammate to fall into an entrenched group of enemy combatants below. Sergeant Chapman and the team voluntarily reinserted onto the snow-capped mountain, into the heart of a known enemy stronghold to rescue one of their own. Without regard for his own safety, Sergeant Chapman immediately engaged, moving in the direction of the closest enemy position despite coming under heavy fire from multiple directions. He fearlessly charged an enemy bunker, up a steep incline in thigh-deep snow and into hostile fire, directly engaging the enemy. Upon reaching the bunker, Sergeant Chapman assaulted and cleared the position, killing all enemy occupants. With complete disregard for his own life, Sergeant Chapman deliberately moved from cover only 12 meters from the enemy, and exposed himself once again to attack a second bunker, from which an emplaced machine gun was firing on his team. During this assault from an exposed position directly in the line of intense fire, Sergeant Chapman was struck and injured by enemy fire. Despite severe, mortal wounds, he continued to fight relentlessly, sustaining a violent engagement with multiple enemy personnel before making the ultimate sacrifice. By his heroic actions and extraordinary valor, sacrificing his life for the lives of his teammates, Technical Sergeant Chapman upheld the highest traditions of military service and reflected great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.