The Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial will Wednesday honor the legacy of U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. John A. “Chappy” Chapman, who posthumously earned the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions in Afghanistan in 2002.
The memorial will dedicate a black granite plaque to Chapman, who died during his actions during the Battle of Takur Ghar on March 4, 2002.
Chapman was a Special Tactics Combat Controller attached to a Navy SEAL Team during the battle.
“On this date, during his helicopter insertion for a reconnaissance and time sensitive targeting close air support mission, Sergeant Chapman’s aircraft came under heavy machine gun fire and received a direct hit from a rocket propelled grenade which caused a United States Navy sea-air-land team member to fall from the aircraft,” the Medal of Honor citation read…