AIR FORCE CROSS AWARDED POSHUMOUSLY TO SGT JOHN CHAPMAN

Fox News | 1-10-03 | Fox News

[DWar]

Fox news just reported the posthumous awarding of the Air Force Cross to Sgt John Chapman.

Medals were given to his widow with his two daughters, to his mother and to his father.

While fighting in Afghanastan, Sgt Chapman was credited with saving the lives of the SEAL team with which he worked by heroic action. While under fire he attacked and secured an enemy machine gun position and immediately began attacking another. He began to take fire from three directions whie enjoying only minimal cover and succumed to his wounds. His SEAL team leader credited Sgt Chapmen with saving the lives of the entire team.

The Air Force Cross is the highest award issued by the United States Air Force.

May God bless this American hero and bless and comfort his greiving family.

[harpseal]

FYI

[centurion316]

I hope Fox News did not really say this, but given the extraordinary ignorance of things military by their production support people; they probably did. They are my favorite news program, but they drive me up the wall calling Lieutenant Generals "Lieutenant" and other such gaffs. Just not professional.

Technical Sergeant John Chapman has been awarded the Air Force Cross, not the Medal of Honor. The Air Force Cross is the second highest award for valor. This is not to denigrate his heroic acts, or his supreme sacrifice, just trying to get the story straight.

[DWar]

" just trying to get the story straight. "

Fox News DID report this as the Air Force Medal of Honor. If indeed it was the Air Force Cross, please cite your source, for clarification.

[fly_navy]

Fayetteville (NC) Observer
January 7, 2003

Chapman To Be Posthumously Awarded The Air Force Cross

By Henry Cuningham, Military editor

The Air Force on Friday will present its second highest award to the family of a Pope Air Force Base special operations airman who died while fighting in Afghanistan.

Tech. Sgt. John A. Chapman will posthumously receive the Air Force Cross during a ceremony at 10 a.m. at the base.

Gen. John Jumper, the Air Force chief of staff, will present the award to Chapman's widow, Valerie, and his mother and father.

Chapman was mortally wounded March 4, 2002, during Operation Anaconda.

He was assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron at Pope. The squadron is part of Air Force Special Operations Command's 720th Special Tactics Group at Hurlburt Field, Fla.

The commanding officer of the 24th Special Tactics Squadron said Chapman stood in the face of hostile fire to save the lives of his fellow soldiers during a battle with Taliban forces, The Associated Press reported.

The 36-year-old technical sergeant was one of seven servicemen killed when al-Qaida and Taliban fighters engaged in a firefight with U.S. helicopters. He died while attempting to retrieve the body of an airman who had fallen from a helicopter during the attack, Lt. Col. Kenneth Rodriguez said at Chapman's funeral in Windber, Pa.

Chapman knew his team was going back into an area "crawling with enemy," Rodriguez said, but, "All he said was 'Let's go!' and go they did, right back into the jaws of death."

President Bush met with Mrs. Chapman and Sheila Harriman on March 16 during a visit to Fayetteville. Harriman's husband, Army Chief Warrant Officer Stan Harriman, also died during fighting in Afghanistan.

[TomB]

You are correct. He was NOT awarded the CMH.

Medal honors fallen soldier

[baseballmom]

Technical Sergeant John Chapman has been awarded the Air Force Cross

Yes, that's what I saw/heard also. Earlier in the day, an Air Force spokesman was on, giving the history of the Air Force Cross, and TSgt Chapman's story. Very moving ceremony - only carried by FNC. Pity - how quickly we forget our true heroes. God bless him and his family.

[TomB]

Fox News DID report this as the Air Force Medal of Honor.

Someone may have misspoke. When I heard it mentioned this morning on FNC, they got it right.

[DWar]

FYI

SECAF honors casualties, looks to future
by Tech. Sgt. Scott Elliott
Air Force Print News
09/05/02 - WASHINGTON -- In a speech to the service's first sergeants, the secretary of the Air Force paid homage to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the war on terrorism, and painted a picture of the road that lies ahead.

RELATED LINKS
Dr. James G. Roche
While much has been accomplished, said Dr. James G. Roche, there is much left to do.

"We've achieved many of our objectives, but there remains much work to be done," Roche said at the Worldwide First Sergeant's Conference held recently in Jacksonville, Fla.

"We can't afford to get complacent or think for a moment we've got this enemy beaten," he said. "We need to prepare and resolve ourselves to see this through to the finish, regardless of where the fight takes us."

The forces of al-Qaida, he warned, are hard at work plotting their next acts of terror.

"They are a determined enemy and are likely now working on their next plan," he said. "We need to and will do our part to stop that from happening."

As armed conflicts go, casualties in the war on terrorism have been relatively light, but the secretary asked the assembled first sergeants to remember the airmen who paid the ultimate price.

"Let's never forget the seven of our fellow airmen who have lost their lives in this fight. Their collective sacrifice, along with the countless heroes who have gone before them, is why we live free in this great country," Roche said.

Those fallen airmen include:

-- Master Sgt. Evander Andrews, a civil engineer from Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho;

-- Master Sgt. William McDaniel II, a pararescueman from Kadena Air Base, Japan;

-- Tech. Sgt. John Chapman, a combat controller from Pope AFB, N.C.;

-- Tech. Sgt. Sean Corlew, an MC-130 Combat Shadow loadmaster from Hurlburt Field, Fla.;

-- Staff Sgt. Juan Ridout, a pararescueman from Kadena;

-- Staff Sgt. Anissa Shero, an MC-130 loadmaster from Hurlburt; and

-- Senior Airman Jason Cunningham, a pararescueman from Moody AFB, Ga.

Switching gears, the secretary turned his attention to challenges and priorities facing the service today.

"It's a very exciting time to be in our Air Force," he said. "As I think about our opportunities, I remain focused on the current century, not the (one) we left behind. As we look to the future, I ask you to briefly think about where we've been. We restructured and reorganized our force to meet a variety of threats versus a single threat, and we developed new ways of delivering military capability."

Of primary concern for both the near-term and long-range future, he said, is the expeditionary concept of operations.

"Fundamental to this effort is our transition to a capabilities-based expeditionary force," he said. "We need to make warfighting effects, and the capabilities we need to achieve them, the driving factor for everything we do."

To that end, the secretary said he and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper have several institutional challenges to keep in mind, including saving money, employing platforms and evaluating strategies.

"We must find ways to reduce costs through the integration of enterprise systems, adoption of best practices and smarter management," he said.

According to the secretary, weapons delivery, intelligence gathering, interdiction and transport do not necessarily need to be assigned exclusively to large aircraft or small, to manned or unmanned systems, or to space.

"We need to continue our development of advanced technologies, such as (unmanned aerial vehicles), smaller weapons and multimission aircraft," he said. "We will never again build a single-mission aircraft."

Continued refinement of the air and space expeditionary force construct is also on the secretary's agenda.

"We need to continue to evaluate our AEF strategies to better deliver combat capability and manage the tempo of our operations for our combat support and low density/high demand assets -- a title we need to retire in our time," he said.

[OneLoyalAmerican]

Greeting DWar, FReepers, et al: Everytime we proudly salute the USA flag, we honor the sacrifice of America's heros.

Red reminds us an American patriot's blood spilled for our freedom.

White reminds us tears were shed by an American family, when that precious blood spilled for our freedom.

Lest we never forget the priceless maintenance costs for the first flag of free people.

[clintonh8r]

The thread should be deleted and reposted to accurately reflect the story. The guy may have been a hero, but the Air Force Cross is most definitely NOT the Congressional Medal of Honor.

[Taxman]

Bravo Zulu, Sergeant.

May God Bless his family, and may his children grow up knowing their daddy was a real hero.

[DWar]

Sorry, if I posted the Fox News story was inaccurate. I'm still not sure whether it was or not until I can locate an official Air Force source for it. However, my purpose in posting the event was to honor the memory of a fallen American hero to whom I owe a debt of gratitude. It is important to "get it right" with regard to the award issued. And it is important to honor this brave American.

[AzSteven]

Please be aware that there is no such thing as a 'Congressional Medal of Honor'. The award is 'The Medal of Honor'. The Congressional thing is something that gets added on by a lot of folks, but its not part of the award name.

[Young Werther]

The Air Force Cross is the highest decoration bestowed by the Air force!

The Congressional Medal of Honor is awarded by Congress.

The Presidential Medal of freedom is awarded by the President. Precision please!

Notwithsatnding that little rant, I saw the ceremony on Fox News. It was moving. The widow and daughters were brave! The parents were stalwart! I was misty eyed.

Hand salute! A moment of silence for our comrade-in-arms!

[DWar]

Heros All


Profiles of America's Fallen Heroes







Monday, July 22, 2002

Since the war on terror began in October, American soldiers have given their lives in defense of their country. They come from all over America and share one thing — they made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of freedom.


• Air Force Staff Sgt. Anissa A. Shero, Grafton, W.Va.

• Air Force Tech Sgt. Sean M. Corlew, Thousand Oaks, Calif.

• Master Sgt. Peter Tycz, Tonawanda, N.Y.

• Sgt. Gene Arden Vance Jr., Morgantown, W.Va.

• Army Staff Sgt. Brian T. Craig, Houston, Texas

• Sgt. 1st Class Daniel A. Romero, Lafayette, Colo.

• Sgt. Jamie Maugans, Wichita, Kan.

• Staff Sgt. Justin J. Galewski, Olathe, Kan.

• Chief Petty Officer Matthew J. Bourgeois, Tallahassee, Fla.

• Spc. Marc A. Anderson, Brandon, Fla.

• Army Pfc. Matthew A. Commons, Boulder City, Nev.

• Air Force Senior Airman Jason Cunningham, Camarillo, Calif.

• Army Sgt. Philip J. Svitak, Joplin, Mo.

• Petty Officer 1st Class Neil Roberts, Woodland, Calif.

• Tech. Sgt. John A. Chapman, Waco, Texas

• Sgt. Bradley Crose, Orange Park, Fla.

• Chief Warrant Officer Stanley L. Harriman, Wade, N.C.

• Staff Sgt. Walter 'Trae' Cohee III, Mardela Springs, Md.

• Sgt. Dwight J. Morgan, Mendocino, Calif.

• Capt. Matthew Bancroft, Burney, Calif.

• Capt. Dan McCollum, Irmo, S.C.

• Gunnery Sgt. Stephen L. Bryson, Montgomery, Ala.

• Staff Sgt. Scott Germonsen, Coram, N.Y.

• Marine Sgt. Nathan P. Hays, Wilbur, Wash.

• Lance Cpl. Bryan Bertrand, Coos Bay, Ore.

• Sgt. Jeannette L. Winters, Gary, Ind.

• Sgt. 1st Class Nathan Ross Chapman, San Antonio, Texas

• Staff Sgt. Brian Cody Prosser, Frazier Park, Calif.

• Master Sgt. Jefferson Donald Davis, Clarksville, Tenn.

• Sgt. Daniel Petithory, Chesire, Mass.

• CIA Officer Johnny 'Mike' Spann, Winfield, Ala.

• Pfc. Kristofer Tif Stonesifer, Doylestown, Pa.

• Spc. Jonn Joseph Edmunds, Cheyenne, Wyo.

• Master Sgt. Evander Earl Andrews, Solon, Maine

[Poohbah]

I always thought it was called the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Not true.

[SAMS]

No, it is the Medal of Honor. It has to be approved by Congress.

[91B]

Give it to this guy

[SAMS]

Correction, it is the Medal of Honor. Awarded by congress.

[Electron Wizard]

It is a military tradition to render a hand salute when encountering someone wearing the Medal of Honor. This is done irregardless of rank.