Numerous individuals have displayed remarkable valor and courage in the heat of battle. While most of them receive recognition for their actions shortly after the fact, others endure a lengthy wait, often spanning more than 15 years. Such was the situation for Master Sgt. John Chapman, who was awarded the Medal of Honor a full 16 years after demonstrating incredible gallantry on the battlefield.
John Chapman’s entry into the US Air Force
John Chapman was born in 1965, in Springfield, Massachusetts. Eventually making his way to Connecticut, he graduated from Windsor Locks High School in 1983, and enlisted in the US Air Force two years later. At the time he joined the service, the Cold War had not yet ended.
Interestingly, the Soviet Union was fighting in the mountains of Afghanistan during the 1980s. No one knew that, in less than 20 years, it would be America’s turn to slug it out against a determined foe in such treacherous terrain.
Chapman received training in the combat control field, where coordinating fire for ground operations would be his primary duty. This led him to the special operations field, and he eventually wound with the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, which was stationed out of Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina.
With the September 11th attacks rallying the United States around the idea of war, Chapman found himself on a plan headed for Afghanistan – and a rendezvous with military history.
terrorist attacks of 9-11 rallying the nation for war, Chapman headed for Afghanistan and a rendezvous with military history.
Operation Anaconda
By March 2002, the American invasion of Afghanistan was well underway. The Taliban and Al-Qaeda proved tenacious, and the country’s terrain offered refuge and tactical advantages, which the technologically superior coalition had to combat.
The coalition launched Operation Anaconda, designed to destroy enemy forces in Shahi-Kot Valley and the Arma Mountains. On March 4, John Chapman was aboard a Boeing MH-47E Chinook, with orders to insert with a group of US Navy SEALs in what would become known as the Battle of Takur Ghar.
This engagement would later be the subject of a great deal of scrutiny, as it resulted in heavy losses for the Special Operations community. Whether it was through poor planning or unfortunate luck, Chapman and the Navy SEALs encountered a heavily entrenched enemy force on the hilltop of Takur Ghar.
Thus began one of the more controversial engagements of the War in Afghanistan.
Battle of Takur Ghar
Almost immediately upon the arrival of John Chapman’s Chinook helicopter, it came under a hail of small arms fire and took a direct hit from a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), causing a US Navy SEAL to plummet from the craft, onto the snow-covered hilltop below.
With no immediate means to rescue the fallen comrade, the badly-damaged chopper departed and touched down seven miles away. Without hesitation, Chapman assumed his designated role and initiated coordination with a Lockheed AC-130 in the vicinity.
Even though it wasn’t his primary duty, Chapman volunteered to embark on a mission to rescue the missing Navy SEAL from the enemy stronghold. He encountered an insurgent and swiftly neutralized two adversaries before moving toward a second heavily fortified machine gun position. The rescue team soon found itself engulfed in a barrage of enemy fire.
Despite sustaining severe injuries, Chapman continued to engage the enemy as the team desperately sought a way out. Eventually, believing him to have succumbed to his wounds, the team made the decision to withdraw.
Controversy arises
It’s here that controversy would arise and gallantry in the face of all odds would emerge. Many years after John Chapman’s gallant last stand, advancements in video technology revealed shocking additional details.
Chapman had survived the engagement and continued to fight after the team withdrew. In footage, he can be seen fighting enemy combatants, even dispatching one during hand-to-hand combat. He then made his way to a bunker, before a direct RPG hit ended his last stand.
John Chapman is posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor
With the new information at hand, John Chapman, who’d posthumously received the Air Force Cross, had his award upgraded to the Medal of Honor. He was also posthumously promoted to master sergeant.
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While the Battle of Takur Ghar will forever be embroiled in controversy, the gallantry with which Chapman fought until the last moments of his life is beyond contestation. He will forever be enshrined in the halls of military history and has earned the eternal respect of any an all who know that he fought in the now infamous battle.