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January 10, 2003
John Chapman's
Air Force Cross medal
was upgraded to the Medal of
Honor.
Citation:
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 4 March 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 seaair- 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 insure 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
stronghold.
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. |
