The Story:
Tech. Sgt. Chapman and his team were on a reconnaissance mission in northeastern Afghanistan on March 4, 2002. The team’s Chinook came under heavy enemy fire, forcing it to crash land. After landing, Chapman called in close-air support to cover the exposed team and to help search for a Navy SEAL team member who had fallen out of the helicopter. Searching for the missing SEAL, he killed two enemies, then came upon a dug-in machine gun nest. Enemies fired on the rescue team from three sides; Chapman fired back at close range until multiple wounds took his life. For his actions at “Robert’s Ridge,” Chapman was posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross on Jan. 10, 2003. A U.S. Navy cargo ship was named in honor of him on April 8, 2005.