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We
come together today to honor our brother Combat Controller John
Chapman,
to dedicate his name to this CCT memorial here at Hurlburt Field that
bears
the names of Combat Controllers who have paid the ultimate price for
our
freedom and for this great nation of ours. It is a solemn occasion to
be
sure, but it is also a time to celebrate - celebrate the life of John
Chapman,
and what he did with his life. And John's was indeed an extraordinary
life
- a life shaped and characterized by the choices John made. Sometime
early
in his life, John chose how he was going to live…with
enthusiasm and
dedication. He committed himself to his extraordinary family and close
circle
of friends. He chose excellence - and it was evident in all he did -
especially
as an athlete. Also early on, John chose his country…in 1985
he joined
the United States Air Force. In 1989 he chose to become a combat
controller
and chose a career dedicated to the mastering of his profession. In
August
of 1992 he made one of his very best choices when he chose Valerie
Novak
as his wife and lifelong companion, and her support made him even
better
at what he did. And John made the greatest of choices in his life when
he
chose God…just as God had chosen him.
On
the 3rd of March 2002, John, along with his special operations
teammates,
infiltrated a windswept mountaintop in eastern Afghanistan called Takur
Ghar.
During the insertion, John's helicopter was struck by enemy fire and as
the
crippled craft lurched out of the LZ, one team member, US Navy SEAL
Neil
Roberts, fell to the ground below. John, as well as every member of the
team
made the choice to return immediately to rescue their fallen mate. Soon
John's
team had reinserted; though this time, they knew exactly what they were
going
into - they were going into the Jaws of Death. Within minutes, the team
was
taking enemy fire from large and small weaponry in a withering
crossfire
and was in grave peril. It was here that John made the final choice of
his
extraordinary life. John charged directly at an enemy crew-served
weapon,
taking out two al Qaida soldiers. He turned and fired on a second
position
mere meters from where he stood; and it was here that he was mortally
wounded
and fell. John's actions had major consequences. His team leader said
that
if John had not engaged and killed the enemy machine gun crew, they
would
have surely killed his whole team. US forces fought on that night and
into
the next day, and in the end, we took Takur Ghar and destroyed scores
of
al Qaida terrorists that were massing for battle. A heavy price was
paid
though, 7 brave Americans died on that hilltop.
John's
choices and the way he lived his life had enormous impact on
those of us who were lucky enough to know and love him. There were
other
heroes that emerged from the Battle of Takur Ghar - one is in this room
now
- Valerie Chapman. Hers is a life characterized by choices too - for
she
too chose family, and she chose America, and she chose
John…and she
too chose God. Another thing and I thank God Almighty for it, Val has
chosen
our unit and our men. After John died, instead of withdrawing and
leaving
us, she has become an amazing supporter of our squadron and all of us.
She
has been a source of inspiration for those of us who are engaged in
this
war on terrorism. Val, I speak for everyone at the unit when I say God
bless
you for all you have done for us - we love you.
On
Sept 11, 2001, the forces of Evil made some choices of their own
- they chose to cowardly attack this nation and our citizenry. They
have
since witnessed the unity of the United States of America and our
determination
to hunt down those who threaten our nation and our way of life. John
was
at the very front of that effort, an effort that has pushed the Taliban
out
of Afghanistan and has the bad guys on the run. He looks down on us now
from
heaven and urges us on. It is up to us to continue and finish what John
has
started - and John, we are up to that task. God bless all of you and
God
bless America.
Ken
Rodriguez, Commander 24th STS
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