Great article on one of the first casualties in the war on terror–John Chapman, USAF CCT killed more than 12 years ago during the initial invasion of Afghanistan. John is also the first CCT to be awarded the Air Force Cross, which is the nation’s second highest military award for extraordinary heroism in combat.
There are many men and women that we never hear anything about, yet they play pivotal roles in destroying our nation’s enemies. Chapman may not be a household name in most of the world, but there is quite a bit of info available regarding his military career. Below is one link with his AF Cross Citation:
Military Times on John Chapman
The below picture was taken on the deployment he was killed, about February 2002. Apparently they are in a safe house and they wanted all the people to sleep outside but John would not have that so the kids and women slept in the house too.
He was married to Valerie and they have two young girls, ages 3 and 5 at the time of his death. He was a quiet professional, and according to his wife, he was a family man who was happy playing Barbie dolls with his girls.
We express our appreciation to freedom fighter John Chapman and his family.
