President Donald Trump will honor an Air Force combat controller who was killed in Afghanistan in 2002 with the Medal of Honor, making Tech Sgt. John A. Chapman the first airman to receive the medal since the Vietnam War.
Chapman’s spouse, Valerie Nessel, will accept the award, which is given for Chapman’s actions on Roberts Ridge in March 2002, Stars and Stripes reported.
“Chapman is a classic American hero,” said Dwight Mears, an author and former West Point History professor who has studied military medals, according to USA Today. “He tenaciously continued fighting the enemy even after being mortally wounded.”
Chapman was part of a team seeking al-Qaida fighters on Takur Ghar mountain in eastern Afghanistan. During the mission, Chapman’s helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. One team member was ejected from the chopper, which later crashed. Chapman and the Navy SEALs he was transporting “voluntarily returned to the snow-capped mountain, into the heart of a known enemy stronghold, in an attempt to rescue their stranded teammate,” the White House said in a news release announcing the ceremony.
https://twitter.com/ArmyComplex/status/1023064047871127552
“Sergeant Chapman charged into enemy fire through harrowing conditions, seized an enemy bunker, and killed its enemy occupants. He then moved from cover to engage a machine gun firing on his team from a second bunker. While engaging this position, he was severely wounded by enemy gunfire. Despite severe wounds, he continued to fight relentlessly, sustaining a violent engagement with multiple enemy personnel before paying the ultimate sacrifice,” the White House said. – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]Fifty years after the Battle of Hue, one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War, a Marine is being recognized for his brave actions.
Retired Sgt. Maj. John Canley received a phone call from President Donald Trump earlier this month in his home in Oxnard, California. Trump told Canley that he was receiving the Medal of Honor for his work in early 1968.
The White House will be making an official announcement once the date for presenting the award is confirmed.
Canley has previously received the Navy Cross, two Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart for his heroism.
Retired Sgt. Maj. John Canley, credited with saving the lives of countless members of his company during one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War, will receive the Medal of Honor. https://t.co/m7tDsTRuVi
— Stars and Stripes (@starsandstripes) July 20, 2018
In his Navy Cross citation, according to Stars and Stripes, Canley was a gunnery sergeant with 1st Battalion and 1st Marines who showed “extraordinary leadership and selflessness during the Battle of Hue.”
During the battle, his commander was seriously wounded, and Canley stepped up and helped lead his fellow Marines. During a week-long siege, Canley led his men to successfully neutralize enemy combatants and brought Marines who were injured to safety, while he himself had several shrapnel injuries. – READ MORE
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