DOB/DOD: July 14, 1965 (Springfield, MA) – March 4, 2002; 36 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Married Valerie A. Nessel (1968-) on August 22, 1992, in Windber, Pennsylvania.
CHILDREN: Two daughters, Madison (1996-) and Brianna (1998-).
LOCAL ADDRESS: Andover Road; Windsor Locks
ENLISTMENT: September 27, 1985.
AIR FORCE SPECIALTY CODE: 1C2X1 – Combat Control
UNIT: 24th Special Tactics Squadron; Pope Air Force Base
FAMILY: Born to Eugene C. [USAF veteran] (1938-2004) and Teresa Marie Chapman Giaccone [remarried in 1994] (1941-). One brother, Kevin C. Chapman (1962-). Two sisters, Lori J. Chapman Longfritz (1966-) and Tammy Chapman Klein (1967-).
DECORATIONS: Awarded the Medal of Honor, Purple Heart Medal, Air Force Commendation with device, Joint Service Achievement Medal with device, Air Force Achievement Medal with device, Air Force Combat Action Medal, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with device for a second award and ‘V’ for Valor, Air Force Good Conduct Medal with 4 devices, National Defense Service Medal with device, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with device, Global War on Terror Medal (Expeditionary), Global War on Terror Medal (Service), Humanitarian Service Medal, Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, Air Force Overseas Ribbon (Long), Air Force Longevity Award with three devices, Air Force NCO Professional Military Education Graduate Ribbon, Small Arms Expert Marksman Ribbon with device, Air Force Training Medal, Scuba Diver badge, and Parachutist Badge (Master).
CIRCUMSTANCES: Killed in Action near Gardez, Afghanistan, while engaged with the enemy while deployed on a mission with a SEAL team. His Navy SEAL team leader credits Sergeant Chapman unequivocally with saving the lives of the entire rescue team. He was awarded the Air Force Cross for his actions that day, which ultimately was upgraded to a Medal of Honor 16 years after the initial incident.
OTHER: John’s sister co-wrote a book, Alone at Dawn: Medal of Honor Recipient John Chapman and the Untold Story of the World’s Deadliest Special Operations Force by Dan Schilling and Lori Longfritz, available on Amazon. 2026 update: A movie based on the book starring Adam Driver and Anne Hathaway is being directed by Ron Howard.
Windsor Locks High School; Class of 1983
Windsor Locks High School Soccer Team
Windsor Locks High School Swim Team
MEDAL OF HONOR CITATION
AWARDED FOR ACTIONS DURING: Global War on Terror
BRANCH OF SERVICE: Air Force
UNIT: 24th Special Tactics Squadron
AGE ON THE DAY OF THE EVENT: 36
CITATION:
The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pride in presenting the Medal of Honor (Posthumously) to Technical Sergeant John A. Chapman, United States Air Force, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. Technical Sergeant Chapman distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism as an Air Force Special Tactics Combat Controller of the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, attached to a Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Team conducting reconnaissance operations in Takur Ghar, Afghanistan, on 4 March 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.
Presentation Date and Details: August 22, 2018, in the White House, to his widow, by President Donald Trump.
John Chapman’s excellence in diving at Windsor Locks High School earned him winning spots in the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conferences in 1980, 1981, 1982, and 1983 State Championships, winning the Class S event in 1982 and 1983 and placing second in the State Open in 1983. After high school, John attended the University of Connecticut and was on the diving team for one year before changing direction and entering the United States Air Force. John Chapman entered the Air Force in September 1985. After basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas, he was sent to Keesler Air Force Base, Biloxi, Mississippi, in January 1986 for training as an Information Systems Operator. Upon completion of training in March 1986, he was assigned to the 1987th Information Systems Squadron, Lowry Air Force Base, Denver, Colorado, from February 1986 to June 1989. He then cross-trained into the Combat Control career field and served with the 1721st Combat Control Squadron at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina, from August 1990 to November 1992. His next assignment was as a Special Tactics Team Member with the 320th Special Tactics Squadron at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, from November 1992 to October 1995. His final assignment was with the 24th Special Tactics Squadron at Pope Air Force Base.
On 10 January 2003, the Secretary of the USAF, James G. Roche, posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross to Technical Sergeant John A. Chapman. He was the first Air Force Combat Controller to be awarded the Air Force Cross [later upgraded].
New technology that allowed a deeper analysis of video of the battle suggested Chapman regained consciousness and resumed fighting Al-Qaeda members who were coming toward him from three directions. Chapman may have crawled into a bunker, shot and killed an enemy charging at him, and then killed another enemy fighter in hand-to-hand combat. (military.com)
While the Air Force pushed for Chapman to be recognized, Naval Special Warfare Command allegedly attempted to block Chapman’s Medal of Honor as it would result in an admission that Chapman had been left behind. When it became apparent that Chapman’s Medal of Honor could not be blocked, it was further alleged that the Navy put the commander of the operation, Britt K. Slabinski, up for the same award, which he received in May 2018. In March 2018, Chapman’s family was notified that his Air Force Cross was to be upgraded to the Medal of Honor. (Newsweek, Task & Purpose, military.com)
Excerpts from an Air Force Times article on August 22, 2018
[Valerie] Nessel said that about two or three years ago when the military was reviewing several cases of valor to see if they merited higher awards, she found out that the technology had advanced to the point that a closer, frame-by-frame analysis of the video of an MQ-1 Predator flying above the battlefield was possible. That video allowed a closer analysis of Chapman’s actions at Takur Ghar and was a key piece of evidence in the Air Force’s effort to upgrade his Air Force Cross to a Medal of Honor.
“I tell them that he was such a genuine, good-hearted person,” Nessel said. “He lived his life — team before self — he lived his life that whole way. The girls and I meant everything to him. When he was home, he was home. He was 110 percent present as a father and as a husband. He was very humble, very kind, very soft-spoken. An amazing man who would be a little embarrassed having this bestowed upon him.”
From the Hartford Courant March 8, 2002
BEST FRIEND, AMERICAN HERO
WINDSOR LOCKS – They had grown up together, classmates since kindergarten and soccer mates from the time John Chapman’s dad rolled out balls for a youth program. And, now, here they were. Freshmen starting for the legendary coach at Windsor Locks [High School] and trying to make sense of him, trying to make sense of it all
John Chapman was the center midfielder.
Mike Toce was the sweeper back.
The year was 1979.
The coach was from a different time. He was in 1969.
“We used to joke,” Toce said Thursday, “that Sullivan was preparing us for war.”
When he retired in 1999, Dan Sullivan was the last three-sport high school coach in Connecticut. He was a soccer coach. He was a basketball coach. He was a baseball coach. He coached for 39 years, winning 1,255 games and, in soccer alone, six state titles.
He was tough, and he never tried to deny it. When Sullivan took the job in 190 at Windsor Locks, he incorporated marching and military drills into his classes. He had been an Army infantry medic, and although the 309th hadn’t seen action, Sullivan was sure some of his students would one day. The Vietnam War proved him right.
“By the time we graduated in 1983, there weren’t many coaches like him anymore,” Toce said. “Playing for Sullivan was brutal at times. He expected a lot of you. On the field, he was tough. Off the field, he was wonderful. You don’t see it when you’re 16, but the things I learned – the training, discipline, and work ethic – I’ve incorporated into my life over the years.
“I don’t want to make a careless parallel, but I think for John, in a way, it was the start of special forces.”
Sullivan watched two jets slam into the World Trade Center on September 11, and he felt white heat shoot through his face and down to his soul. There were dead Connecticut athletes buried in the rubble, among them one of the great lacrosse players in college history and a former Yale football player. The loss of life was incalculable.
“I’ve never been so hurt and mad in my life,” Sullivan said. “War is falling in a battlefield, but innocent kids, mothers, and dads being mowed down? It still upsets me every time I think about it. I was ready to go to Afghanistan myself. These vets, 90 years old, would go right now if they were called.
“I’m a very patriotic man. This is why I’m so proud of John.”
This is why Sullivan walked out to the middle of the soccer field at Windsor Locks the other day and found a patch of earth where he knew Chapman once played for him. This is why, at that moment, tears filled the eyes of the tough old coach.
“All of a sudden, it hit me,” Sullivan said. “All I could think about were his wife and his two gorgeous little girls. It broke my heart.”
“The tough man’s voice began to crack. His only remedy is to recover with a barrage of praise.
“He was such a class act,” Sullivan said. “He was courageous. He was fearless on the soccer field. And you should have seen him up on that diving board. He’d fly through the air, doing all those tricks. You’d never catch me doing that.
“He was loyal. He was dedicated. He was well-liked by everyone. He’d help me teach skills. John had something special.”
“Windsor Locks is the town where aircraft roar to safe Bradley [Airport] landings and little boys grow up to be American heroes. In 1965, Windsor Locks won the Little League World Series in Williamsport. On Monday, half a world away, John Chapman became an American hero in the war on terrorism. A helicopter landing became a controlled crash, and six men fell to the hellfire of al Qaeda and Taliban machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.
“I was scanning MSNBC on the Internet when I saw John A. Chapman on the list of deceased,” Toce said. “I knew he was Air Force Special Operations, but it’s not an uncommon name, and I wasn’t sure about the A.”
Odd about a middle initial, isn’t it? You can know a guy since kindergarten and not remember it. His heart pounding, Toce called his wife at home to look it up in his 1983 yearbook.
“His middle name,” Toce said, “is Allan.”
Technical Sergeant John A. Chapman was 36.
“John was a great guy,” said David Allen.
Allen wanted to tell everyone that and so much more the other day but was too choked up to speak during a memorial at the high school. David’s father, Tom, used to be Chapman’s diving coach. A Windsor Locks record Chapman set as a junior, in fact, stands 20 years later.
“My dad has been working to keep what happened off his mind,” said David, 16. “He has taken it hard.”
Tom Allen thought so much of the young Chapman that he gave his first son the middle name John.
Four years later, he asked Chapman to be David’s godfather.
“The day of the memorial at school, we said the Pledge of Allegiance in John’s honor,” his godson said.
The words never were so important to a town.
Toce and a handful of friends will attend Chapman’s funeral in his wife’s Pennsylvania hometown on Tuesday. When the tears have been shed and the sorrow spent, surely the time will come to regale those who had not seen him play. The Chapmans are a soccer family. Kevin and Tammy were strong players. Lori was phenomenal, Toce said, better than most of the boys. Kevin had a driver’s license and would take John and Toce, three years his junior, all over the state to officiate games. In high school, John led Windsor Locks to the old Central Valley League title. Those were the days when Windsor Locks would battle Glastonbury and all the big state powerhouses.
Gene Chapman, who had preceded his son in the Air Force, played a vital role in building youth soccer in Windsor Locks. Toce calls John’s father his source of athletic inspiration. Growing up, he called John something simpler. He called him his best friend.
“I was the captain senior year, but John clearly was the best player,” Toce said. “He was one of the best high school soccer players I’ve ever seen.”
Sullivan had wondered why he hadn’t seen more of Chapman over the years. Toce, in fact, hadn’t seen him in 10 years. Isn’t that the way it is for so many of us as we move on in life? Or was it because of the secretive nature of special forces, where not even the immediate family knows all that is happening?
“All I know is I’m kicking myself in the pants for letting ten years pass,” Toce said.
Toce approached the high school about retiring Chapman’s Number 6 jersey. He’d like to get one of the fields named after him and start a scholarship. He called Sullivan, and the tough old coach was thrilled about the idea. He knows John Chapman is a hero. He knows John Chapman is his hero.
From the Hartford Courant on April 2, 2002
HERO’S FAMILY RESPONDS
Words cannot begin to express the gratitude our family feels for everyone who has helped ease our pain and heartache in this most sorrowful time of our lives since Technical Sergeant John A. Chapman was killed in action in Afghanistan.
We are very fortunate that we live in a place that has such caring people. If the rest of the world were as compassionate, there would be no hatred and wars.
Johnny was truly a gift from God, not because he died saving the lives of his comrades, but because of the person he was. As a child, he was a little rascal who loved life and could make light of any situation. He was also tenderhearted and caring. John carried these characteristics through adulthood. Still, we had no idea he had touched so many lives in such a positive way.
We have been hearing from many people who are sharing stories of how he showed acts of kindness or encouragement through the years, beginning when he was a little boy. We shall treasure these letters.
We have no doubt that God has already found a place for him in heaven, but it will be some time before we can accept the fact that Johnny is no longer with us on Earth. People from Windsor Locks and throughout the state overwhelmed us with their contributions to the beautiful memorial service and celebration of Johnny’s life. For this, we are truly grateful to all those who generously gave donations to the memorial trust for our little granddaughters.
The news media were very compassionate and patient with us in our time of sorrow. Everyone went out of their way to be considerate of our feelings.
We would like to ask two things:
First, like Johnny, never be afraid to show your love for others. Enjoy each day with families and friends to the fullest, and don’t be afraid to hug and kiss those who are dear to you.
Second, please pray for all those who have died, for their families, and for those who continue to fight to preserve our freedom.
TERRY AND NICK GIACCONE; Windsor Locks
NOTE: Additional family members of John A. Chapman also signed this letter.
Memorialized at a pavilion near the soccer field at Veteran’s Memorial Park in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.
Also memorialized with a plaque at Memorial Hall, 1 South Main Street, Windsor Locks, Connecticut. Photo by Jeff DeWitt.
The ship named in his honor
MV [Motor Vessel] Technical Sergeant John A. Chapman (T-AK-323) was a Buffalo Soldier-class container ship. She was one of the Military Sealift Command’s Prepositioning Program. Built in 1978 by Chantier Naval de La Ciotat in La Ciotat, France, she was originally named Merlin. On April 8, 2005, she was renamed for Pope Air Force Base combat controller Technical Sergeant John A. Chapman, a posthumous Medal of Honor recipient.
The Technical Sergeant John A. Chapman (T-AK-323) carried Air Force munitions. She featured climate-controlled cocoons on her weather decks, which protect additional cargo from the marine environment. She was owned and operated by Sealift Incorporated under charter to MSC.
She was scrapped on September 4, 2014, at Alang, India.
Other named events and awards
Air Force Special Tactics 24th Special Operations Wing (24 SOW) hosts the annual “Chapman Challenge,” where competitions for Best Combat Mission Support Personnel, Best Operator, Best Shooter, and Best Overall Team take place, and awards are given to the best of the best.
Also, he is the namesake of the Combat Control Foundation’s Master Sergeant John A. Chapman ‘Service Before Self’ award, which honors his legacy and sacrifice. The award pays tribute to exceptional individuals who exemplify the core values of the Air Force, prioritizing service over personal interests and demonstrating selflessness and dedication in their actions.
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colorado – The U.S. Air Force Academy Class of 2026 hosted Medal of Honor recipient Master Sergeant John Chapman’s family and 24th Special Operations Wing members at their Exemplar Dining-In at Mitchell Hall on September 14.
The sophomore class became the first Academy class to select an enlisted Airman as its Exemplar when it chose U.S. Air Force Medal of Honor recipient Master Sergeant John Chapman. The Class of 2026 Exemplar Committee encountered some resistance with their classmates’ overwhelming desire to name the Academy’s first enlisted Exemplar. The committee members provided documentation that showed Chapman’s “significant contribution to airpower,” and the class’s choice was approved.
“It was a huge sense of pride and accomplishment for our committee’s hard work and the effort to get us there and for our class’s desire to inspire change and standing firm in our belief that Master Sergeant Chapman reflected the values as a class that were important to us,” Mirande said.
Each class chooses an aerospace leader the cadets wish to emulate as their Exemplar. The process begins when the class president selects the Exemplar committee chairperson just a few weeks after the cadets finish Basic Cadet Training and join the Cadet Wing. The Class of 2026 committee announced its selection to the rest of the class in early spring.
Master Sergeant Chapman is buried in Saint Mary Byzantine Catholic Church Cemetery, 4th Street and Cemetery Drive, Windber, Pennsylvania.
