John A. Chapman, an Air Force Combat Controller, was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his extraordinary heroism during the Battle of Takur Ghar in Afghanistan in 2002.

Chapman was born on July 14, 1965, in Springfield, Massachusetts. He enlisted in the Air Force in 1985 and trained as an Information Systems Operator before volunteering for Special Tactics training in 1989. He became a Combat Controller, responsible for directing air strikes and providing communications during special operations missions.

The action for which Chapman received the Medal of Honor took place on March 4, 2002. He was part of a special operations team sent to establish an observation post on Takur Ghar, a mountain in Afghanistan. The team’s helicopter was attacked by enemy fighters and crashed in a valley. Chapman and the rest of the team volunteered to return to the mountain to rescue a teammate who had fallen from the helicopter during the attack.

Chapman charged an enemy bunker, taking out enemy soldiers and seizing the bunker. Despite being severely wounded, he continued to fight, providing cover for his teammates and directing air strikes. He was left alone and presumed dead when the rest of the team was forced to withdraw under heavy enemy fire.

However, drone footage later showed that Chapman had continued to fight, engaging the enemy and providing cover for another helicopter attempting to land and rescue the team. He was killed during this action.

In 2018, Chapman was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration in the United States, for his actions on that day. His selfless bravery and dedication to his team were hailed as embodying the highest ideals of the Air Force and the U.S. military. His actions saved the lives of his team and are a testament to his courage and commitment.

View Drone Footage of John Allan Chapman, Takur Ghar Mountain Afghanistan

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.