WEBVTT 00:00.440 --> 00:02.662 Good morning , ladies and gentlemen . I 00:02.662 --> 00:04.884 am technical Sergeant Ryland . Really . 00:04.884 --> 00:07.107 And I will be your narrator for today's 00:07.107 --> 00:08.884 ceremony . Today marks the 19th 00:08.884 --> 00:10.940 anniversary of the day on which then 00:10.940 --> 00:13.162 technical Sergeant John Chapman and six 00:13.162 --> 00:15.329 other U . S service members heroically 00:15.329 --> 00:17.496 gave their lives in a fierce battle to 00:17.496 --> 00:19.384 recover a fallen teammate for his 00:19.384 --> 00:21.218 conspicuous gallantry . Sergeant 00:21.218 --> 00:23.273 Chapman was posthumously awarded the 00:23.273 --> 00:25.384 Medal of Honor , our nation's highest 00:25.384 --> 00:27.496 decoration for valor . Today we honor 00:27.496 --> 00:29.218 mass Sergeant Chapman with the 00:29.218 --> 00:31.384 unveiling of his black on the Medal of 00:31.384 --> 00:33.440 Honor Memorial Wall . Presiding over 00:33.440 --> 00:35.329 today's ceremony is the Commander 00:35.329 --> 00:37.440 Special Warfare Training Wing Colonel 00:37.440 --> 00:39.607 Mason Duo please stand for the playing 00:39.607 --> 00:41.329 of the national anthem and the 00:41.329 --> 00:41.050 invocation . 01:07.640 --> 01:08.640 Mhm ! 01:11.840 --> 01:12.840 Mhm . 01:20.640 --> 01:23.540 Okay . Mhm . Yeah . 01:25.940 --> 01:26.940 Mhm . 01:31.640 --> 01:35.550 Okay . Mm . 01:36.040 --> 01:37.040 Yeah , 01:46.940 --> 01:47.940 yeah . 01:51.940 --> 01:55.750 Mm . You may relax . Mhm . 01:59.440 --> 02:03.280 Mhm . Let us pray . Ever present 02:03.280 --> 02:06.300 God . We have gathered at this ceremony 02:06.300 --> 02:09.270 200 necessary . And John Chapman , with 02:09.270 --> 02:11.550 the unveiling of his plaque on the 02:11.550 --> 02:14.430 middle of other memory wall on these 02:14.430 --> 02:17.690 solemn grounds , we're reminded of 02:17.690 --> 02:19.920 certain Chapman and six other U . S . 02:19.920 --> 02:23.120 Service members and they stood without 02:23.120 --> 02:26.190 hesitation at the Gate of Freedom , 02:26.330 --> 02:29.550 Justice and Liberty and paid the 02:29.550 --> 02:31.960 ultimate sacrifice so others may live . 02:32.230 --> 02:34.840 I asked for your continual blessing 02:34.840 --> 02:37.630 upon the Chapman family coasters , 02:37.640 --> 02:41.080 families and everyone that has served 02:41.090 --> 02:44.810 and continues to serve . Today we 02:44.810 --> 02:48.260 remember ST Chapman's life and legacy 02:48.640 --> 02:50.910 and all his teammates that continue to 02:50.910 --> 02:53.750 live on in our hearts and will never be 02:53.750 --> 02:56.650 forgotten . Like the good book says , 02:56.880 --> 03:00.150 their deeds will be remembered forever . 03:00.640 --> 03:03.360 Now bless this ceremony in your holy 03:03.360 --> 03:04.638 name , I pray . Amen . 03:14.840 --> 03:18.370 Mhm . Thank you , Chaplain 03:18.370 --> 03:20.481 Rodriguez , into the Band of the West 03:20.481 --> 03:22.481 for that beautiful rendition of our 03:22.481 --> 03:24.537 national anthem . Please be seated . 03:27.940 --> 03:30.107 At this time . We would like to take a 03:30.107 --> 03:32.107 moment to welcome our special guest 03:32.107 --> 03:34.329 with us today . The widow of Master and 03:34.329 --> 03:36.273 John Chapman . Ms Valerie Nestle , 03:40.240 --> 03:42.129 his mother , Miss Terry Chapman . 03:47.040 --> 03:48.873 I would also like to welcome the 03:48.873 --> 03:50.596 leadership in attendance . The 03:50.596 --> 03:52.373 Commander , their education and 03:52.373 --> 03:54.484 training command , Lieutenant General 03:54.484 --> 03:56.707 Brad Webb and his wife , Donna . Yeah , 03:58.540 --> 04:01.320 okay . The Deputy Commander , Air 04:01.320 --> 04:03.376 Education and Training Command Major 04:03.376 --> 04:05.598 General William Spangler , Tall and his 04:05.598 --> 04:09.160 wife , Elissa . Mhm . Mhm . 04:10.840 --> 04:13.062 The command chief . Their education and 04:13.062 --> 04:15.229 training command Chief Master Sergeant 04:15.229 --> 04:16.507 Eric Thompson . What ? 04:19.240 --> 04:21.407 Yeah , Although time does not allow us 04:21.407 --> 04:23.518 to introduce all of our distinguished 04:23.518 --> 04:25.684 guests . We would like to welcome each 04:25.684 --> 04:28.018 of you . Thank you for joining us today . 04:29.740 --> 04:32.470 Mhm . The Airman's Heritage Park was 04:32.470 --> 04:34.720 created to honor America's airman past 04:34.750 --> 04:37.030 and present . Within this area , there 04:37.030 --> 04:39.086 are several displays , including the 04:39.086 --> 04:41.252 aircraft that a phone at Randolph over 04:41.252 --> 04:43.197 the decades . It also contains the 04:43.197 --> 04:45.197 statues of distinguished airmen who 04:45.197 --> 04:47.363 have passed through Randolph Gates and 04:47.363 --> 04:49.363 trained at what once was called the 04:49.363 --> 04:51.586 West Point of the air . Within the park 04:51.586 --> 04:51.540 is the Medal of Honor Memorial , 04:51.550 --> 04:54.730 adorned with plaques dedicated those 04:54.730 --> 04:56.841 airmen who have received our nation's 04:56.841 --> 04:59.063 highest award , many of them making the 04:59.063 --> 05:01.230 ultimate sacrifice and service to this 05:01.230 --> 05:03.341 great nation . The names inscribed in 05:03.341 --> 05:05.508 the plaque serve as a reminder that we 05:05.508 --> 05:07.619 must never forget the sacrifices made 05:07.619 --> 05:09.452 by those airmen . Today , Master 05:09.452 --> 05:11.563 Sergeant John Chapman joins us fellow 05:11.563 --> 05:13.674 Medal of Honor recipients on the wall 05:13.674 --> 05:15.341 for his actions in the war in 05:15.341 --> 05:17.563 Afghanistan , becoming the first and to 05:17.563 --> 05:19.841 date only airmen since the Vietnam War . 05:19.841 --> 05:22.063 To do so , Ladies and gentlemen , it is 05:22.063 --> 05:24.286 my honor to introduce today's presiding 05:24.286 --> 05:26.008 official Colonel Mason Doula . 05:30.540 --> 05:31.540 Yeah . 05:35.440 --> 05:37.662 Good morning . Thanks so much for being 05:37.662 --> 05:40.210 here . General Webb McDonough , Command 05:40.210 --> 05:42.210 Chief . Thank you . So much for the 05:42.210 --> 05:44.043 opportunity to do this , uh , at 05:44.043 --> 05:47.230 leadership command Chiefs most of all , 05:47.230 --> 05:49.341 Miss Val , Miss Terry , it's going to 05:49.341 --> 05:51.452 be a special day . It would be less , 05:51.452 --> 05:53.563 uh , special without you being here . 05:53.563 --> 05:55.341 We were very grateful . Chaplin 05:55.341 --> 05:57.397 Rodriguez . Most of this crowd needs 05:57.397 --> 05:59.508 all the person they can get . So keep 05:59.508 --> 06:01.619 those coming . I'm not sure we went . 06:01.619 --> 06:03.841 Bank of the West . Thank you . You guys 06:03.841 --> 06:06.008 sound great . I'm gonna start today by 06:06.008 --> 06:07.897 focusing on what all really great 06:07.897 --> 06:09.897 speeches should and that's myself . 06:10.340 --> 06:12.340 That might be confusing if you came 06:12.340 --> 06:14.229 here today expecting to hear some 06:14.229 --> 06:16.229 soaring rhetoric about the Medal of 06:16.229 --> 06:18.062 Honor and , uh , Master and John 06:18.062 --> 06:18.000 Chapman . All I can tell you is that , 06:18.010 --> 06:19.621 uh , it's part of a long and 06:19.621 --> 06:21.788 distinguished tradition that nobody in 06:21.788 --> 06:23.899 this audience has ever heard of . And 06:23.899 --> 06:26.066 frankly , I've never employed in front 06:26.066 --> 06:25.350 of an audience the senior before . But 06:25.350 --> 06:27.406 you're gonna have to trust me . That 06:27.406 --> 06:29.517 will eventually circle back to Master 06:29.517 --> 06:29.210 Sergeant Chapman . But please , for now , 06:29.210 --> 06:32.680 focus on me . Okay ? When ? When 06:32.680 --> 06:34.902 General Webb offered us the opportunity 06:34.902 --> 06:37.069 to to honor match certain Chapman over 06:37.069 --> 06:39.291 six months ago , I was really excited . 06:39.291 --> 06:41.402 I assumed that there would be a short 06:41.402 --> 06:41.400 opportunity for me to speak , which 06:41.400 --> 06:43.233 means a captive audience from my 06:43.233 --> 06:45.210 favorite subject . And it got me 06:45.210 --> 06:47.266 thinking about the speech itself and 06:47.266 --> 06:49.377 what I should focus on . But I didn't 06:49.377 --> 06:51.488 really sweat the details . I mean , a 06:51.488 --> 06:53.432 speech about Medal of Honor winner 06:53.432 --> 06:55.543 Master Sergeant John Chapman is going 06:55.543 --> 06:57.543 to right itself , and I had tons of 06:57.543 --> 06:59.543 time . Uh , it did occur to me that 06:59.543 --> 07:01.488 potentially a parachute jump might 07:01.488 --> 07:01.280 distract the audience from remembering 07:01.280 --> 07:03.336 my speech at all . We'll see if that 07:03.336 --> 07:05.520 plays out . But the more I considered 07:05.860 --> 07:08.050 my speech , the more my excitement 07:08.640 --> 07:10.584 began to fade a little bit . To be 07:10.584 --> 07:12.640 honest with you , I got a little bit 07:12.640 --> 07:14.807 nervous . 19 years after the Battle of 07:14.807 --> 07:16.751 Roberts Ridge , most of the good , 07:16.751 --> 07:18.640 really good speeches about Master 07:18.640 --> 07:20.862 Sergeant John Chapman have already been 07:20.862 --> 07:22.807 given . And it occurred to me that 07:22.807 --> 07:24.696 perhaps back in 2002 , Lieutenant 07:24.696 --> 07:26.807 Colonel , Web or Captain Tillis might 07:26.807 --> 07:28.973 have heard those speeches . So now I'm 07:28.973 --> 07:31.196 a little bit aggravated because I can't 07:31.196 --> 07:33.196 really figure out how to start this 07:33.196 --> 07:35.307 thing , and my thoughts keep circling 07:35.307 --> 07:37.418 back to the seemingly impossible task 07:37.418 --> 07:39.362 of writing a speech to honor match 07:39.362 --> 07:39.100 certain Chapman in a way that hasn't 07:39.100 --> 07:41.211 been done before . So I lost a lot of 07:41.211 --> 07:43.433 time , to be honest , trying to come up 07:43.433 --> 07:45.711 with this brilliant , innovative theme . 07:45.711 --> 07:49.050 Donner certain Chapman in a new way and 07:49.050 --> 07:51.328 then and you can't really make this up . 07:51.328 --> 07:55.230 It started snowing in Texas , and in 07:55.230 --> 07:57.100 this surreal moment , instead of 07:57.100 --> 07:59.211 working on my speech , I found myself 07:59.211 --> 08:01.378 watching my five year old son ski down 08:01.378 --> 08:03.489 a hill at the Lackland Air Force Base 08:03.489 --> 08:05.600 Golf Course and General Miller . This 08:05.600 --> 08:07.656 may be too soon , ma'am , but , uh , 08:07.656 --> 08:09.822 yeah , if you've got any reports about 08:09.822 --> 08:12.860 damage on the 30 box or pictures of 08:13.540 --> 08:15.860 kind of spread eagled impact crater 08:15.870 --> 08:18.020 roughly the size of a small human I 08:18.020 --> 08:20.020 just wanted on the record right now 08:20.020 --> 08:22.187 that I know nothing about that . But I 08:22.187 --> 08:24.242 got back on task of speeches . Don't 08:24.242 --> 08:26.353 write themselves . Uh and I'm not I'm 08:26.353 --> 08:28.520 not trolling for sympathy , but it was 08:28.520 --> 08:30.631 hard . Uh , I mean , it was cold , it 08:30.631 --> 08:32.964 was dark . I was writing by candlelight , 08:32.964 --> 08:32.720 and I have to keep running outside to 08:32.720 --> 08:34.720 my gas grill on which I was boiling 08:34.720 --> 08:36.720 water . And when I came back in the 08:36.720 --> 08:38.942 last time I bumped the candle , the wax 08:38.942 --> 08:41.053 got all over the speech . Some got on 08:41.053 --> 08:43.900 the dog . It got complicated , Uh , and 08:43.900 --> 08:45.956 to be frank , I ran out of time , so 08:45.956 --> 08:48.011 there's no speech . But since I'm up 08:48.011 --> 08:49.910 here , I thought I'd share a few 08:49.910 --> 08:52.021 stories about the speech that I could 08:52.021 --> 08:54.021 have written . If I had time and it 08:54.021 --> 08:56.188 would have been awesome , I could have 08:56.188 --> 08:58.299 written a great speech about combat . 08:58.299 --> 09:00.466 It's been the shared experience of the 09:00.466 --> 09:02.577 special Operations community since we 09:02.577 --> 09:04.688 lost Master Sergeant John Chapman and 09:04.688 --> 09:06.910 combat stories are always an easy crowd 09:06.910 --> 09:09.132 pleaser . I could have written a killer 09:09.132 --> 09:11.188 speech about master Sergeant Chapman 09:11.188 --> 09:10.870 marching into his commander's office 09:11.270 --> 09:12.937 and volunteering to sit alert 09:15.340 --> 09:17.562 for a back to back fill a position with 09:17.562 --> 09:19.451 the Navy team , eliminations most 09:19.451 --> 09:21.562 sensitive missions and how that alert 09:21.562 --> 09:23.673 led to a deployment to Afghanistan in 09:23.673 --> 09:25.760 2002 , when the Taliban were reeling 09:26.540 --> 09:28.596 from the nation's response to 9 11 . 09:28.596 --> 09:30.429 And frankly , Afghanistan wasn't 09:30.429 --> 09:33.080 terribly kinetic . And how that 09:33.080 --> 09:34.913 deployment and the battle on top 09:34.913 --> 09:36.913 attacker Gar taught a generation of 09:36.913 --> 09:38.913 special operators the kind of fight 09:38.913 --> 09:41.080 that they were in , and it transformed 09:41.080 --> 09:43.024 a relatively inexperienced Special 09:43.024 --> 09:45.191 operations force into something else . 09:46.140 --> 09:48.029 How it created a machine designed 09:48.029 --> 09:51.520 relentlessly hunt men about the 09:51.520 --> 09:53.631 pressure that came from living inside 09:53.631 --> 09:56.180 of that machine and how Master Sergeant 09:56.180 --> 09:59.850 Chapman's loss was the harbinger to all 09:59.850 --> 10:02.017 too frequent reports of casualties and 10:02.017 --> 10:03.910 fallen comrades and ceremonies at 10:03.910 --> 10:06.650 Arlington that robbed the force of rest . 10:06.650 --> 10:08.817 Even when it was in Garrison . Because 10:08.817 --> 10:10.928 someone you knew and loved was always 10:10.928 --> 10:12.872 downrange . I could have written a 10:12.872 --> 10:16.520 great tactical speech about Mako 30 and 10:16.520 --> 10:19.660 Razor 01 and hot H L Z s and plunging 10:19.660 --> 10:23.070 machine gun fire and the deep snow and 10:23.070 --> 10:25.292 the ties that bind small teams together 10:25.292 --> 10:28.490 during horrific circumstances . I could 10:28.490 --> 10:30.712 have written a really good speech about 10:30.712 --> 10:30.510 combat , but I think it would have been 10:30.510 --> 10:34.070 the wrong speech . Anyone who knew 10:34.080 --> 10:35.913 really knew Master Sergeant John 10:35.913 --> 10:38.310 Chapman I would say with absolute 10:38.310 --> 10:40.366 certainty that he was not defined by 10:40.366 --> 10:42.143 his combat experience . Even an 10:42.143 --> 10:44.830 experience is heroic and inspiring as 10:44.830 --> 10:47.790 Roberts rich , But I'm not sure that 10:47.790 --> 10:49.846 either . Mysterio , Miss Val needs a 10:49.846 --> 10:52.068 speech about combat to know that Master 10:52.068 --> 10:54.290 Sergeant John Chapman was a really hard 10:54.290 --> 10:56.457 man , and we sent him to do impossibly 10:56.457 --> 10:58.457 hard things in really hard places , 10:59.240 --> 11:02.170 with better time management and and , 11:02.170 --> 11:04.114 frankly , with fewer second degree 11:04.114 --> 11:06.281 burns to golden retrievers from candle 11:06.281 --> 11:08.337 wax , I could have written a totally 11:08.337 --> 11:11.260 different speech , a real tear jerker 11:11.840 --> 11:14.370 about families and sporting wives and 11:14.370 --> 11:17.730 the price paid by those who love them 11:17.730 --> 11:19.730 that allow men like Master Sergeant 11:19.730 --> 11:21.952 John Chapman to be Valorous in combat . 11:22.340 --> 11:24.740 That's working . Mhm . Yeah , 11:26.340 --> 11:28.507 there's a really good speech about the 11:28.507 --> 11:30.562 courage and strength of Miss Val and 11:30.562 --> 11:32.340 mystery in every line of Master 11:32.340 --> 11:34.229 Sergeant Chapman's Medal of Honor 11:34.229 --> 11:36.540 citation . Supporting an operator that 11:36.540 --> 11:38.730 works at Fort Bragg is hard business . 11:40.340 --> 11:42.507 Raising two girls for extended periods 11:42.507 --> 11:44.562 of time as a quasi single parent and 11:44.562 --> 11:46.507 then as a widow is hard business . 11:46.507 --> 11:48.284 There's a great speech in there 11:48.284 --> 11:50.451 somewhere about love and sacrifice and 11:50.451 --> 11:52.451 the long line of strong women who , 11:52.451 --> 11:54.396 like mysterious vow , paid a steep 11:54.396 --> 11:56.396 price for the chosen professions of 11:56.396 --> 11:58.618 their sons and the men that they were . 11:58.618 --> 12:00.673 But I think that would have been the 12:00.673 --> 12:03.110 wrong street speech to it would have 12:03.110 --> 12:04.888 missed what she taught us about 12:04.888 --> 12:07.110 resiliency , misfiled before most of us 12:07.110 --> 12:09.221 knew what that word really meant . We 12:09.221 --> 12:12.230 learned about it by watching you speech 12:12.230 --> 12:14.341 like that . Women captured a fraction 12:14.341 --> 12:16.563 of the obstacles that you and the girls 12:16.563 --> 12:18.674 have fought and overcome since losing 12:18.674 --> 12:22.250 John . And how in some very real ways , 12:23.240 --> 12:25.462 you're a more accomplished fighter than 12:25.462 --> 12:27.840 your husband was . So I'm driving here 12:27.840 --> 12:29.960 this morning . I'm doomed . I'm over 12:29.960 --> 12:31.960 two on great speeches that I didn't 12:31.960 --> 12:34.550 take the time to write . And I'm 12:34.550 --> 12:36.828 outlining these challenges to my chief . 12:37.940 --> 12:41.440 Well , he used the term panic attack , 12:42.140 --> 12:45.040 but I prefer a calm and thoughtful 12:45.040 --> 12:47.373 description of an impending train wreck . 12:48.640 --> 12:50.862 But the chiefs of pararescue men , uh , 12:51.240 --> 12:53.462 which means that unless your complaints 12:53.462 --> 12:55.640 about ephemeral bleed , his empathy 12:55.640 --> 12:57.196 level hovers at near zero , 12:57.196 --> 12:59.140 particularly when you're squawking 12:59.140 --> 13:01.307 about complaints . And so he looked at 13:01.307 --> 13:00.990 me with something approaching a sneer 13:00.990 --> 13:04.500 and kind of just grunts . Uh huh . Why 13:04.500 --> 13:06.611 don't you just tell some stories will 13:06.611 --> 13:08.833 knock out some memorial push ups and go 13:08.833 --> 13:10.944 back to work . And so it dawned on me 13:10.944 --> 13:13.167 on the right over that perhaps that was 13:13.167 --> 13:15.278 actually the right answer . You see , 13:15.278 --> 13:17.444 ours is a business in a community that 13:17.444 --> 13:19.611 comes with costs , and those costs are 13:19.611 --> 13:21.667 borne by teammates and our formation 13:21.667 --> 13:23.833 today and the teammates whose pictures 13:23.833 --> 13:27.230 and bronze blacks grace the walls of 13:27.230 --> 13:29.540 our buildings . And Chief and I have 13:29.540 --> 13:31.651 been trying to convince our formation 13:31.651 --> 13:33.818 that when we lose a teammate in combat 13:33.818 --> 13:35.762 or in training , that we honor our 13:35.762 --> 13:38.100 teammates best by sharing stories and 13:38.100 --> 13:40.322 delaying as long as possible the moment 13:40.322 --> 13:42.378 when the pictures on our walls or on 13:42.378 --> 13:46.040 our parks become strangers . All the 13:46.040 --> 13:48.040 good speeches about Master Sergeant 13:48.040 --> 13:50.096 Chapman may , in fact , have already 13:50.096 --> 13:52.262 been given , but we can never tell too 13:52.262 --> 13:54.262 many stories about Chappie . Master 13:54.262 --> 13:56.484 Sergeant John Chapman is now immortal . 13:56.484 --> 13:58.429 We teach young airmen about in our 13:58.429 --> 14:00.484 professional development guides . We 14:00.484 --> 14:02.596 teach older men about them in R P M E 14:02.596 --> 14:05.780 courses . Chappie was a man and a 14:05.780 --> 14:07.780 husband and a magnet for Children , 14:07.780 --> 14:10.310 including his own . You want a legend 14:10.510 --> 14:12.843 or a case study and service before self . 14:13.440 --> 14:15.662 He was just a teammate and we love it . 14:17.540 --> 14:19.540 Master Sergeant John Chapman was an 14:19.540 --> 14:21.318 accomplished in seasons special 14:21.318 --> 14:24.660 operator . Chafee was a scofflaw 14:26.340 --> 14:28.340 whose early run ins with the police 14:28.340 --> 14:30.340 probably would require some sort of 14:30.340 --> 14:32.673 moral waiver to even join the Air Force . 14:32.673 --> 14:34.910 Today . I mean , we're talking about a 14:34.910 --> 14:37.132 troubled young man with an affinity for 14:37.132 --> 14:41.120 explosives . Mothers rose colored 14:41.120 --> 14:43.560 glasses might characterize that as a 14:43.560 --> 14:45.838 nine year olds running with the police , 14:45.838 --> 14:49.310 firing off black hat firecrackers until 14:49.310 --> 14:51.477 the long arm of the law hold them in . 14:51.477 --> 14:53.477 But Miss Terry , I'm fairly certain 14:53.477 --> 14:55.532 that you can see around some corners 14:55.532 --> 14:57.588 about the kind of work that your son 14:57.588 --> 14:59.699 was going to gravitate tours either a 14:59.699 --> 15:02.040 criminal mastermind or come back 15:02.040 --> 15:05.880 control . This is Master Sergeant 15:05.880 --> 15:08.102 John Chapman is a Medal of Honor winner 15:08.102 --> 15:10.324 who saved the lives of his teammates in 15:10.324 --> 15:12.860 battle . Chappie was lucky his 15:12.860 --> 15:15.082 teammates didn't run him out of town on 15:15.082 --> 15:17.193 a rail before he ever deployed . That 15:17.193 --> 15:19.082 does not mean the Chappie was not 15:19.082 --> 15:21.082 popular with his teammates . He was 15:21.082 --> 15:23.193 actually deeply loved in a way that's 15:23.193 --> 15:25.249 unique and rare , but they certainly 15:25.249 --> 15:27.193 had a list of grievances about his 15:27.193 --> 15:29.220 behavior in Garrison . And if we're 15:29.220 --> 15:31.442 going to talk about the elephant in the 15:31.442 --> 15:33.387 room , Chappie had this ridiculous 15:33.387 --> 15:35.609 moustache and he was inordinately proud 15:35.609 --> 15:37.664 of it . It was tolerated on the home 15:37.664 --> 15:37.010 front for reasons that can't be 15:37.010 --> 15:39.290 explained . He refused to shave it 15:39.290 --> 15:41.790 despite endless volumes of ribbon , and 15:41.790 --> 15:44.150 he was fond of calling it after he ate 15:44.150 --> 15:46.317 in the team room and sprinkling little 15:46.640 --> 15:48.910 food particles onto his teammates , kit 15:48.910 --> 15:51.350 and computers . Mhm 15:52.840 --> 15:55.007 Master Sergeant John Chapman displayed 15:55.007 --> 15:57.530 almost superhuman levels of strength 15:57.800 --> 16:00.770 and physicality when he assaulted 16:00.770 --> 16:02.659 multiple enemy fighting positions 16:02.659 --> 16:05.270 uphill through the deep snow . Despite 16:05.270 --> 16:09.050 being wounded , Chappie shabby 16:09.050 --> 16:11.790 wasn't even a gym rat in a community 16:11.790 --> 16:13.679 where that's a cardinal offense . 16:15.240 --> 16:17.351 Chappie wasn't a fitness nut , and he 16:17.351 --> 16:19.518 wasn't really much of a runner in mind 16:19.518 --> 16:21.573 you . This was 20 years ago , before 16:21.573 --> 16:23.573 this community had embraced all the 16:23.573 --> 16:26.570 facets of human performance it took 20 16:26.570 --> 16:28.848 years ago . It took exactly 73 seconds . 16:28.848 --> 16:31.200 That is an empirical fact . 73 seconds 16:31.210 --> 16:33.321 after walking into a team room before 16:33.321 --> 16:35.432 somebody asked you how much you could 16:35.432 --> 16:38.560 bench , usually with a menacing Lear . 16:38.570 --> 16:40.800 Hey , man , where you from ? Yeah , 16:40.800 --> 16:43.570 that's cool . So what's your bench 16:46.240 --> 16:50.180 do ? Do you even work out , bro ? That 16:50.180 --> 16:52.347 wasn't shopping . You'd rather be home 16:52.347 --> 16:54.569 with Maria Madison . The jacket steel . 16:54.569 --> 16:56.610 His one saving grace is that he was 16:56.610 --> 16:59.250 half too often , uh , likely a legacy 16:59.250 --> 17:01.194 of his near Olympian career . As a 17:01.194 --> 17:03.028 diver and swimmer . He gets swim 17:03.028 --> 17:05.250 circles around anybody in the team room 17:05.250 --> 17:07.361 the fact that he'd like to remind his 17:07.361 --> 17:09.139 teammates of after Dive workups 17:09.139 --> 17:11.139 admissions by reporting back to the 17:11.139 --> 17:13.083 team room with a neatly pressed to 17:13.083 --> 17:15.250 standard Bt Utah , some TV sandals and 17:15.250 --> 17:17.650 a brightly colored Speedo , and then 17:17.650 --> 17:19.872 pretending that nothing was amiss going 17:19.872 --> 17:21.928 about his duties for the rest of the 17:21.928 --> 17:23.983 day . That's not an amusing quirk in 17:23.983 --> 17:25.872 most team rooms . Miss Bell and I 17:25.872 --> 17:27.928 frankly blame you for that because I 17:27.928 --> 17:30.094 know he came home and laughed with you 17:30.094 --> 17:32.150 about it , and it is inappropriate . 17:32.150 --> 17:35.500 Shame on you . Master Sergeant John 17:35.500 --> 17:38.130 Chapman stares back at you at the 17:38.130 --> 17:40.060 pictures on our walls , from the 17:40.060 --> 17:42.116 pictures on our walls with the moral 17:42.116 --> 17:45.050 authority of a Medal of Honor . Chappie 17:45.050 --> 17:47.272 is morality was anchored in his ability 17:47.272 --> 17:49.439 to be a father figure to near everyone 17:49.439 --> 17:52.190 around him . He embraced the dead life 17:52.200 --> 17:56.050 before Dad jokes became a cool me . But 17:56.050 --> 17:58.580 this particular dad figure relished in 17:58.580 --> 18:00.580 his teammates . Fear and discomfort 18:02.140 --> 18:04.307 champion , a teammate , a new teammate 18:04.840 --> 18:07.007 were deployed to do a sensitive survey 18:07.007 --> 18:09.140 mission in West Africa , and so they 18:09.140 --> 18:11.870 were headed to Liberia to the embassy 18:11.870 --> 18:14.037 in Monrovia , but they stopped over in 18:14.037 --> 18:16.010 the average coast and it's his 18:16.010 --> 18:18.177 teammates first trip . So he's looking 18:18.177 --> 18:20.343 to Chappy to make sure that he doesn't 18:20.343 --> 18:22.399 make a wrong step . It's a different 18:22.399 --> 18:24.510 time in a very different place . What 18:24.510 --> 18:26.454 what was always a constant is that 18:26.454 --> 18:28.566 Chappie was covered in Children so as 18:28.566 --> 18:30.732 they as they are in the terminal , his 18:30.732 --> 18:33.010 teammates thinking through his actions , 18:33.010 --> 18:35.177 thinking through the next steps of the 18:35.177 --> 18:37.066 mission chapels , mobbed by small 18:37.066 --> 18:39.288 Children and because it was a different 18:39.288 --> 18:41.177 time then , because it was 9 11 . 18:41.177 --> 18:43.177 There's no sky bridges in the Ivory 18:43.177 --> 18:43.080 Coast airport . As it turns out , you 18:43.080 --> 18:45.247 walk out on the flight line so you can 18:45.247 --> 18:47.302 get on your plane , and so they walk 18:47.302 --> 18:49.524 out and confront This smoking heap of a 18:49.524 --> 18:52.590 Russian aircraft is a kind term , some 18:52.590 --> 18:54.890 sort of turbo prop job . It's got a 18:54.890 --> 18:57.057 flat tire , and what appears to be the 18:57.057 --> 18:59.279 Russian pilot is manually pumping it up 18:59.279 --> 19:01.446 as they walk out to the aircraft . You 19:01.446 --> 19:03.390 kinda have to duck under this half 19:03.390 --> 19:05.501 built ramp to get into the aircraft , 19:05.501 --> 19:07.390 and the spars and the skin of the 19:07.390 --> 19:09.446 aircraft are exposed because all the 19:09.446 --> 19:11.610 plastic cowling is gone . The front 19:11.610 --> 19:13.943 three or four rows of seats are removed , 19:13.943 --> 19:16.054 which didn't make sense at the time , 19:16.054 --> 19:18.110 but it was clearly an airplane you'd 19:18.110 --> 19:20.890 rather jump out than flying . Mm . And 19:20.890 --> 19:22.890 so Champion teammate starts getting 19:22.890 --> 19:25.112 really nervous and and pretty evident , 19:25.112 --> 19:27.112 I mentioned it was West Africa , so 19:27.112 --> 19:29.334 it's getting hot . And so now the sweat 19:29.334 --> 19:28.590 starts coming . He sits down at his 19:28.590 --> 19:30.590 cheap plastic seat to find two male 19:30.590 --> 19:33.190 ends to the seatbelt . Uh , and and he 19:33.200 --> 19:35.422 looks over with kind of the universal . 19:35.540 --> 19:38.670 Hey , boss , uh , signal the champion 19:38.670 --> 19:40.892 champion just laughs and leans over and 19:40.892 --> 19:43.059 ties the seat belt in a square knot so 19:43.059 --> 19:45.337 that his teammate can feel safe . Okay ? 19:45.640 --> 19:47.473 And the Russians disappear after 19:47.473 --> 19:49.610 chattering and Russian , Uh , and it 19:49.610 --> 19:51.832 looks like they're trying to start this 19:51.832 --> 19:53.999 thing up and take off , but not before 19:53.999 --> 19:56.221 they load the goats and the chickens in 19:56.221 --> 19:58.166 the front , which is why the front 19:58.166 --> 19:57.880 seats are gone . And so now the smells 19:57.880 --> 19:59.824 really coming in . You can paint a 19:59.824 --> 20:02.047 pretty vivid picture if you're not wild 20:02.047 --> 20:04.158 about taking off in this thing . Uh , 20:04.158 --> 20:04.020 and chickens are running around picking 20:04.020 --> 20:07.430 at your feet , and so Chapters teammate 20:07.430 --> 20:09.597 is terrified at this point and kind of 20:09.597 --> 20:11.708 staring straight ahead trying to keep 20:11.708 --> 20:11.640 it together , and Chappie starts 20:11.640 --> 20:13.751 laughing uncontrollably next to him , 20:14.940 --> 20:17.162 not clear whether it was because of the 20:17.162 --> 20:19.273 comfort of his teammates or the scene 20:19.273 --> 20:21.051 out the window . So folks , his 20:21.051 --> 20:23.162 teammate to look out the window . And 20:23.162 --> 20:25.384 there's a guy out there with an oil can 20:25.384 --> 20:29.040 tied to a wire hanger , and oil is 20:29.040 --> 20:31.240 running like a sieve out of the engine 20:31.240 --> 20:33.296 that they're trying to get started . 20:33.296 --> 20:35.462 And he's dragging it over , opens up a 20:35.462 --> 20:37.684 cowling of the engine and dumps the oil 20:37.684 --> 20:40.060 back into the jet slaps . It throws the 20:40.060 --> 20:42.270 propeller and runs off . Uh huh . 20:42.740 --> 20:44.740 Jackie's teammates said he was near 20:44.740 --> 20:46.518 tears watching this , and Shafi 20:46.518 --> 20:47.907 couldn't stop laughing , 20:50.840 --> 20:52.618 whether that was because of the 20:52.618 --> 20:54.729 discomfort of his teammate or because 20:54.729 --> 20:56.784 Chappy took such joy in life . We'll 20:56.784 --> 20:58.673 never know . Master Sergeant John 20:58.673 --> 21:00.840 Chapman is now larger than life . He's 21:00.840 --> 21:02.896 the best of our community . He's the 21:02.896 --> 21:04.951 best . Our Air Force . He's the best 21:04.951 --> 21:07.173 our nation can produce , and he belongs 21:07.173 --> 21:09.300 on the walls of this memorial next to 21:09.300 --> 21:11.356 the rest of the Air Force's heroes , 21:11.356 --> 21:13.467 Master Sergeant John Chapman inspires 21:13.467 --> 21:15.189 all , and he inspires the next 21:15.189 --> 21:17.300 generation of warriors to wonder if 21:17.300 --> 21:19.411 they can live up to the standard that 21:19.411 --> 21:22.410 he set on tackle guard . But Master 21:22.410 --> 21:24.466 Sergeant John Chapman doesn't really 21:24.466 --> 21:26.900 inspire affection . He's almost become 21:26.900 --> 21:29.910 too big for that . But we can still 21:29.910 --> 21:33.880 love chappie humanity and its quirks in 21:33.880 --> 21:36.060 a sense of humor . We can honor Master 21:36.060 --> 21:38.530 Sergeant Chapman , but yeah , 21:38.530 --> 21:41.790 Peacefulness . Mr . Perry . Mrs . Bell , 21:42.080 --> 21:44.247 we're not gonna win the battle against 21:44.247 --> 21:47.500 time . But this community , we'll do 21:47.500 --> 21:50.060 our very best for as long as we can 21:51.640 --> 21:54.850 to tell her happy stories and keeping 21:54.860 --> 21:56.860 him from becoming a stranger to his 21:56.860 --> 21:59.530 teammates . Thank you all very much for 21:59.530 --> 22:01.697 coming for honor in this community and 22:01.697 --> 22:01.550 MasterCard Chairman . 22:06.640 --> 22:07.640 Mhm . 22:10.840 --> 22:11.840 Oh , 22:21.240 --> 22:23.510 thank you , Colonel . Do , uh , Miss 22:23.510 --> 22:25.510 Nessel . Miss Chapman , please join 22:25.510 --> 22:27.343 Colonel Dua as we unveil certain 22:27.343 --> 22:29.454 Chapman's black on the Medal of Honor 22:29.454 --> 22:28.760 Wall . 22:38.940 --> 22:40.829 Ladies and gentlemen , the newest 22:40.829 --> 22:42.996 addition to the Heritage Park Medal of 22:42.996 --> 22:44.996 Honor Memorial Master Sergeant John 22:44.996 --> 22:48.270 Chapman . Yeah , 22:55.440 --> 22:58.850 yeah , yeah , right . 22:59.440 --> 23:03.270 Yeah . Okay , Okay . Mhm . 23:05.140 --> 23:06.270 No mhm . 23:17.840 --> 23:19.673 Thank you . Miss Nessel and Miss 23:19.673 --> 23:21.451 Chapman for joining us today in 23:21.451 --> 23:23.618 celebration of Sergeant Chapman's life 23:23.618 --> 23:25.900 and legacy . Ceremonies such as today 23:25.910 --> 23:27.799 are always tempered by the solemn 23:27.799 --> 23:29.910 remembrance of our teammates who gave 23:29.910 --> 23:31.966 their lives in service to this great 23:31.966 --> 23:34.132 nation and the gold Star families they 23:34.132 --> 23:35.910 have left behind to end today's 23:35.910 --> 23:38.021 ceremony . In honor of those who have 23:38.021 --> 23:40.243 made the ultimate sacrifice , we invite 23:40.243 --> 23:39.860 you to join us in a time honored 23:39.860 --> 23:42.740 tradition Memorial Push ups Chief 23:42.740 --> 23:44.907 Master Sergeant Todd Popovic will lead 23:44.907 --> 23:47.730 us in the event . Once we start the 23:47.730 --> 23:49.730 event , we're gonna have to columns 23:49.730 --> 23:51.841 formed up here . I'll leave the first 23:51.841 --> 23:53.952 column form up on me . We'll have two 23:53.952 --> 23:56.119 rows down the middle and everyone else 23:56.119 --> 23:55.860 can fill in the sidewalk , please . 23:57.140 --> 23:57.950 Calling 24:08.540 --> 24:11.270 mhm . Mhm . 24:16.740 --> 24:20.510 Hey , I can't her . The 24:20.510 --> 24:23.690 next exercise will be memorial . Push 24:23.690 --> 24:26.770 up Memorial wash up through the eyes . 24:27.140 --> 24:29.360 Position of that size . Move 24:32.240 --> 24:35.170 to exercise . 24:35.180 --> 24:57.380 123112312312312345123612312312312 24:57.390 --> 25:00.200 Home . This next one's for 25:00.200 --> 25:04.120 teamwork . Down 25:04.120 --> 25:07.530 a bed . Work this next one's for fallen 25:07.530 --> 25:11.060 comrades down a 25:11.070 --> 25:14.760 bed . This last one for Master Sergeant 25:14.760 --> 25:18.560 John Chapman . Yeah , Not 25:18.560 --> 25:22.350 bad . That's our job to recover . 25:24.240 --> 25:25.050 Carry on . 25:30.440 --> 25:33.430 Mm hmm . So I'm not joking . 25:34.240 --> 25:37.950 Yeah , Yeah . Ladies and 25:37.950 --> 25:40.006 gentlemen , the men and women of the 25:40.006 --> 25:42.140 United States Air Force are proud to 25:42.140 --> 25:44.362 have served with MasterCard Chapman and 25:44.362 --> 25:46.584 to honor his sacrifice . This concludes 25:46.584 --> 25:48.751 today's ceremony . We truly appreciate 25:48.751 --> 25:50.973 you joining us . We wish you a pleasant 25:50.973 --> 25:50.950 day .