- [h=2]Newly released video shows incredible Afghanistan heroics of Air Force sergeant, 36, killed in battle with Al Qaeda 16 years ago and he will finally receive a posthumous Medal of Honor[/h]
- Air Force Technical Sgt. John Chapman, 36, died in Afghanistan in March 2002
- He is posthumously being given a Medal of Honor for his actions on the day he died
- A new video shows him taking on Al Qaeda fighters single-handedly after coming back from unconsciousness after being believed to be dead by his team
- He was fatally shot while providing cover for a helicopter full of Army Rangers
[h=2]Newly released video shows incredible Afghanistan heroics of Air Force sergeant, 36, killed in battle with Al Qaeda 16 years ago and he will finally receive a posthumous Medal of Honor[/h]
- Air Force Technical Sgt. John Chapman, 36, died in Afghanistan in March 2002
- He is posthumously being given a Medal of Honor for his actions on the day he died
- A new video shows him taking on Al Qaeda fighters single-handedly after coming back from unconsciousness after being believed to be dead by his team
- He was fatally shot while providing cover for a helicopter full of Army Rangers
The US Air Force has released new footage revealing an airman's combat heroics, for which he will finally receive a posthumous Medal of Honor.
Technical Sgt. John Chapman, 36, an Air Force combat controller, died during the Battle of Roberts Ridge in Afghanistan on March 4, 2002.
Chapman and members of the Navy's elite SEAL Team 6 had returned to the 10,000-foot Takur Ghar mountain to rescue a SEAL who had fallen out of their helicopter after it had been struck by an Al Qaeda RPG during an earlier landing attempt that morning.
Technical Sgt. John Chapman, 36, an Air Force combat controller, died during the Battle of Roberts Ridge in Afghanistan on March 4, 2002.
Chapman and members of the Navy's elite SEAL Team 6 had returned to the 10,000-foot Takur Ghar mountain to rescue a SEAL who had fallen out of their helicopter after it had been struck by an Al Qaeda RPG during an earlier landing attempt that morning.
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Technical Sgt. John Chapman, 36, an Air Force combat controller, died during the Battle of Roberts Ridge in Afghanistan in March 2002. He now receives a posthumous Medal of Honor
During the engagement, Chapman led the charge up a slope to engage the Al Qaeda fighters in their bunker and targeted a machine gunner who had been firing at the team. Chapman died after being struck in the chest by two machine gun bullets.
Chapman was posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross in 2003 for coordinating the search and rescue mission for the SEAL, among other actions.
But now, Chapman is due to receive the Medal of Honor, thanks to Predator drone footage showing that, after being believed to be dead and left behind, he regained consciousness and continued engaging Al Qaeda fighters coming at him from three directions, until he was finally fatally shot, the Air Force Times reports.
In the Air Force's minute and a half video, which begins at 4.27am, a Chinook helicopter can be seen arriving at the snowy mountain to insert Chapman and the Navy SEALs for the rescue mission.
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The Air Force has released new Predator drone footage from the day of Chapman's death. He can be seen circled in green, as he runs up the snowy mountain slope towards Al Qaeda fighters
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Chapman, leading the charge up the mountain, can be seen entering enemy bunkers
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Chapman, who was wounded, unconscious and believed dead by his team, wakes up 70 minutes later and single-handedly takes on Al Qaeda fighters, before being fatally shot as he provided cover fire for a helicopter full of Army Rangers which had been struck by an RPG
The video, which was released Thursday, appears to show Chapman, circled in green, break left to run up a steep mountain slope and firing at Al Qaeda fighters located in two bunkers. He then runs into an occupied bunker and can be seen moving from cover to cover to attack the machine gun that is firing on the SEALs.
It is then that Chapman is wounded and knocked unconscious.
'The burst hit John and he went down,' Retired Navy Master Chief Petty Officer and special warfare operator Britt K. Slabinski said in May 2018 of the predawn incident, according to the US Department of Defense.
Slabinski was a senior chief petty officer at the time and running the mission on the ground. He initially received a Navy Cross for his efforts during the battle, which was then upgraded to a Medal of Honor in May 2018.
Slabinski said that the team was in the line of direct fire and that one of the SEALs was hit in the leg by the machine gun, at which point Slabinski directed the wounded to cover and 'crawled over to John, looking for some sign of life from John and didn’t get anything.'
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Chapman was the only non-SEAL involved in the mission that day. He was part of the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, the Air Force's equivalent of the Delta Force or SEAL Team 6
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As an Air Force combat controller, Chapman's original job that day was to call in airstrikes
Believing Chapman to be dead, Slabinski took the team to shelter about 30 feet away while waiting for help.
The newly-released video picks up events 70 minutes later, at 5:41am, when Chapman, alone, appears to regain conscious and continues to engage the Al Qaeda fighters.
He can be seen being fatally shot as he provides fire cover for an inbound Chinook carrying Army Rangers, which had been hit by an Al Qaeda RPG.
The Predator video excerpts were part of what finally convinced the military to now upgrade Chapman's posthumous medal from an Air Force Cross to the Medal of Honor, after former Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James had recommended the upgrade in 2016.
It is then that Chapman is wounded and knocked unconscious.
'The burst hit John and he went down,' Retired Navy Master Chief Petty Officer and special warfare operator Britt K. Slabinski said in May 2018 of the predawn incident, according to the US Department of Defense.
Slabinski was a senior chief petty officer at the time and running the mission on the ground. He initially received a Navy Cross for his efforts during the battle, which was then upgraded to a Medal of Honor in May 2018.
Slabinski said that the team was in the line of direct fire and that one of the SEALs was hit in the leg by the machine gun, at which point Slabinski directed the wounded to cover and 'crawled over to John, looking for some sign of life from John and didn’t get anything.'
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Chapman was the only non-SEAL involved in the mission that day. He was part of the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, the Air Force's equivalent of the Delta Force or SEAL Team 6
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As an Air Force combat controller, Chapman's original job that day was to call in airstrikes
Believing Chapman to be dead, Slabinski took the team to shelter about 30 feet away while waiting for help.
The newly-released video picks up events 70 minutes later, at 5:41am, when Chapman, alone, appears to regain conscious and continues to engage the Al Qaeda fighters.
He can be seen being fatally shot as he provides fire cover for an inbound Chinook carrying Army Rangers, which had been hit by an Al Qaeda RPG.
The Predator video excerpts were part of what finally convinced the military to now upgrade Chapman's posthumous medal from an Air Force Cross to the Medal of Honor, after former Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James had recommended the upgrade in 2016.
Newsweek reported that
Chapman's autopsy revealed that he was 'shot and fragged' 16 times and that all of the wounds occurred prior to his death.
He also had bruises on his hands, neck and face, which were believed to be the result of hand-to-hand combat with Al Qaeda before he killed them. ln addition, he was found to have used all of his ammunition — six 30-round magazines — prior to his death.
Chapman's autopsy revealed that he was 'shot and fragged' 16 times and that all of the wounds occurred prior to his death.
He also had bruises on his hands, neck and face, which were believed to be the result of hand-to-hand combat with Al Qaeda before he killed them. ln addition, he was found to have used all of his ammunition — six 30-round magazines — prior to his death.
That evidence would not have been possible if he had died within the first few minutes of the confrontation, as it was originally thought.
Chapman was the only non-SEAL involved in the mission that day. He was part of the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, the Air Force's equivalent of the Delta Force or SEAL Team 6. His primary job that day was supposed to have been to call in airstrikes.
Controversy allegedly surrounded the upgrading of Chapman's honor, with sources telling Newsweek that the SEALs attempted to stall Chapman's Medal of Honor over the unflattering notion that one of their own might have left behind a man who was still alive, even if it was unknowingly.
Seven men — from the Navy, Army and Air Force — died during the confrontation with Al Qaeda that day.
Chapman was the only non-SEAL involved in the mission that day. He was part of the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, the Air Force's equivalent of the Delta Force or SEAL Team 6. His primary job that day was supposed to have been to call in airstrikes.
Controversy allegedly surrounded the upgrading of Chapman's honor, with sources telling Newsweek that the SEALs attempted to stall Chapman's Medal of Honor over the unflattering notion that one of their own might have left behind a man who was still alive, even if it was unknowingly.
Seven men — from the Navy, Army and Air Force — died during the confrontation with Al Qaeda that day.
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