Page 4 - May John News Today

In one of the most harrowing engagements of operation enduring freedom, john was part of a highly trained team on a combat mission to establish a secure position on the peak of a mountain. in the early morning of march 4th, 2002, john and his teammates were preparing to land onto the mountain when their helicopter was struck by heavy machine gunfire and a rocket-propelled grenade. they were under serious attack. as the helicopter lurched away, petty officer first class neil roberts was flung out...

Souza, johns friend and combat control teammate, who is still recovering from a recent severe injury. jack, thank you for your noble service. thank you very much, we appreciate it. thank you. thank you, jack. appreciate it. it looks like youre doing well. doing well? good. thank you, jack. finally, we salute the five congressional medal of honor recipients who join us. woody williams, harvey barnham, edward byers, brian thacker and britt slabinski. please stand. please. brave people. three month...

Blessings of all are the patriots like john and all of you that just stood and frankly many of the people in this room. i exclude myself and a few of the politicians. who like john carry our freedom on their shoulders, march into the face of evil, and fight to their very last breath so that we can live in freedom and safety and peace. now it is my privilege to ask valerie to join me on stage to accept the congressional medal of honor on behalf of the hero she loved and the hero our nation will f...

They landed into a deep snow and heavy machine gunfire coming from three different directions. couldnt even see, so many bullets. at over 10,000 feet, they fought the enemy at the highest altitude of any battle in the history of the american military. john chapman was the first to charge up the mountain toward the enemy. he killed two terrorists and cleared out the first bunker. john left the safety of the first bunker to fire a second enemy grenade at another bunker. as john fired on the second...

Deploying undetected onto the battlefield to set up airfields and direct fire support. now john will become the first special tactics airman to receive the congressional medal of honor. john met valerie in winber, pennsylvania, while training with the army. that was a big day. good day, right? they married in 1992 and soon their love grew into a beautiful family. whenever john was home, he immediately took on dad duty, reading to the girls, playing with them and even building an amazing swing se...

Brianna, we award your dad the congressional medal of honor. i know hes looking down on you right now from heaven, proud of this day, but even more proud of the incredible young women that you have both become. its great to know you. great to have met you, thank you. were also grateful to be joined by johns wonderful mom, terry, his sister, lori, his brother, kevin, and valeries parents, rita and jim novak. thank you all for being here. a very great honor. [ applause ] although she could not be ...

>> talk about that special community. as you accept it, do you want people to keep in mind folks like john who are still doing that job? >> yes. people need to realize that our men and women are still defending us in every corner of the globe right now. just because we dont have lots of casualties and big battles going on anymore, they are still out there fighting every day. and weve forgotten about it. >> im so glad she said that because we do lose sight of the fact there are thousands, just in...

Welcoming a wonderful family that i just met in the oval office, the chapman family. thank you. please stand up. [ applause ] and to his beautiful wife, valerie, who agrees that he was a very brave man right from the beginning. right? you knew that. i know this day has truly brought special meaning. exactly 26 years ago, you married john. today is our great honor to share his incredible story with the world, so thank you very much, valerie, appreciate it. and your daughters, madison and

Point he was shot down and appeared not to be moving but as the rest of his team is driven off this mountain under withering enemy fire, he gets back up and goes back at it, even defending another helicopter coming in with reinforcements. so they have watched this unfold, knowing he was a hero, but only realizing in the last few years the extent of that heroism. i spoke with valerie, his wife, who youll be seeing shortly here receiving this. we talked about this day and this moment. >> have you ...

Opportunity to honor john chapman with americas highest decoration for his heroic valor, to honor the enduring sacrifice his family carries deeply within their hearts, and to honor the legacy, inspiration that john has infused into the mission, the leadership and the operations of air force special tactics. lord, your just intent of overcoming evil with good in this world through human agency found fearless expression in john, even in the face of death so others may live. we thank you for john. ...