The Selfless Sacrifice: John Chapman's Final Stand

On December 23, 2002, the pressure was mounting on Al-Qaeda's grip in Afghanistan. While most Americans were enjoying the holiday season, United States Air Force Combat Controller John Chapman, prepared for a mission that would forever etch his name in history. Operation Anaconda was underway, aiming to root out Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces from the unforgiving mountains of eastern Afghanistan.

“This was very high profile, no-fail job, and we picked John” “In a very high-caliber career field, with the highest quality of men – even then – John stood out as our guy.”

-Air Force Col. Ken Rodriguez

Chapman was assigned to work with SEAL Team 6 their goal being to clear out the mountaintop of Takur Ghar enemy combatants. During the initial insertion on the mountain, things quickly take a turn for the worse. Their Chinook helicopter, which carried the team, is suddenly ambushed by small arms fire and an RPG. The RPG blast throws Navy SEAL Neil Roberts off the back of the helicopter onto the mountaintop — right next to an enemy bunker.

The Chinook, badly damaged, is forced to crash land a few miles away. Neil Roberts is left alone and surrounded by the enemy. The remaining team quickly call in another Chinook to take them back up the mountain to Roberts. They know he’s in a dire situation and needs immediate backup. Little do they know, Roberts has already been executed.

Under heavy fire, the second “Chinook” is able to successfully deliver the team to Roberts’s position. Chapman and the SEALs deploy from the helicopter and instantly start pushing up the hill to recover their now-deceased teammate. They are taking heavy fire from all around, yet without hesitation Chapman leads the way through thigh-deep snow while returning fire. He reaches the first bunker where Robert's dead body lies, then charges into it alone. He kills the two enemies inside, saving the SEALs down below. Chapman along with another SEAL charge toward the next bunker, where a PKM (a Russian-made machine gun) hits Chapman twice, knocking him unconscious.

Meanwhile, the other SEALs are engaged in a firefight near their dead comrade Roberts. One of the SEALs gets hit with a grenade, falling ten feet off the boulder he was firing from. He’s hit pretty bad, but he’s alive. After nearly losing another man, they decide to fall back from the overwhelming enemy fire. However, they don’t realize that Chapman is still unconscious above them. The SEAL team leader calls in an airstrike to cover their retreat thinking Chapman is already dead. Miraculously, Chapman, still very much alive, remains unhit from the airstrike. A few hours later, in the early morning, he regains consciousness and begins to reengage the enemy.

At this point, Chapman is experiencing a serious amount of blood loss from his previous gunshot wound. Not letting that stop him, he starts his one-man stand against over 20 enemy combatants. Chapman one by one picks off the enemy fighters as they charge toward him. One of the combatants makes it to the bunker where he was firing from. Chapman, heavily wounded, engages him in hand-to-hand combat and kills him.

He now hears the helicopter coming in to rescue him, but this is where he will make his final stand. Nearly out of ammunition, Chapman exposes himself from the bunker to engage the enemy that is closing in from all sides. He does this to try and protect the helicopter from ground fire. The helicopter held a QRF (Quick Reaction Force) to get Chapman out. Even with Chapman's cover fire, the helicopter is struck by an RPG forcing the second helicopter of the day to make a crash landing below Chapman's position. While exiting the helicopter, many of the special operators from the QRF are fatally shot. 

Bleeding out, yet without hesitation, Chapman engages the enemy once again at close quarters to protect his would-be rescuers below. After suffering from 16 gunshot and shrapnel wounds, Master Sgt. John Chapman is fatally shot through the heart. He was down to just a few bullets remaining in his last magazine.

Behind closed doors, the Navy initially wanted to turn down Chapman’s proposed Medal of Honor nomination because they left a man behind. CIA drone footage of what occurred was eventually released, and being credited with saving 23 lives, John Chapman was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

7 Americans lost their lives during that battle, and 12 were wounded.

“John was always selfless – it didn’t just emerge on Takur Ghar – he had always been selfless and highly competent, and thank God for all those qualities,” “He could have hunkered down in the bunker and waited for the (Quick Reaction Force) and (Combat Search and Rescue) team to come in, but he assessed the situation and selflessly gave his life for them.”

- Col. Rodriguez

Video footage and analysis of the battle