"For over a decade, the public didn’t see the Predator video. The public access wasn’t via a FOIA request. It wasn’t given to Chapman’s family, nor did the Pentagon produce it voluntarily. It was leaked to the public, likely because someone did not want Chapman’s desperate fight alone to be whitewashed."
"On March 4, 2002, as daylight was replacing darkness, Air Force combat controller John Chapman was fighting for his life. He was fighting alone on a snow-covered mountain in Afghanistan called Takur Ghar. The SEAL team he was attached to (codenamed MAKO 30), commanded by Senior Chief Britt Slabinski, had left him for dead. But Chapman wasn’t dead. After battling alone for the better part of an hour in the bitter cold, Chapman was almost out of ammunition. A Chinook (Razor 01) with a QRF of Rangers was 45 seconds from landing. Firing in three directions, Chapman was still killing Al Qaeda and laying down suppressing fire when he slipped his mortal coil. An Al Qaeda fighter took his life with a bullet to the heart. That final, fatal wound was his 16th battle wound. Chapman had fought to the last second of his life. Had he not, it is likely Razor 01 and the men aboard could have suffered the same fate as Chapman. As it was, three QRF soldiers were gunned down as the loaded Chinook settled into knee-deep snow.
"Thirteen hours later, it was over. Operation Anaconda had failed. Miserably. It was bound for failure. Multiple command decisions before and during the operation cost the lives of seven men.
"After the battle, DEVGRU SEALs universally praised Chapman’s heroism. He was one of them, they said. Today, Chapman’s name is the only non-SEAL on the Navy SEALs wall of honor in Virginia Beach. In after-action statements, SEALs praised Chapman. Chapman was put in for the Air Force Cross (the equivalency of the Navy Cross). That medal was quickly approved. Britt Slabinski, the man who had left Chapman for dead but had never checked Chapman's body for signs of life, received the Navy Cross." . . .
. . ."The hot breath of veteran wrath and the bite of facts can be seen on the petition's comments page. Now, it has over 20,000 signatures and counting. You can find the petition here." . . .
Jake Gyllenhaal Set to Play Medal of Honor Recipient John Chapman in ‘Combat Control’ . . ."The Combat Controllers are a highly classified unit, and the emergence of Chapman’s story in recent years has been the first most Americans have heard of their work. Chapman was the first Air Force member to be recognized with a Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War." . . .
