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(strong wind rises)

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(slow, dramatic music)

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(electronic tones beep)

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- [Narrator] Early in the
morning of March 4, 2002,

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a Joint Special Operations
reconnaissance team

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was tasked to insert onto the
mountaintop of Takur Ghar,

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by way of an MH-47 Chinook,

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report enemy movements,
and direct air strikes.

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Among them was Technical
Sergeant John Chapman,

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a US Air Force combat controller.

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At approximately 2:50 in the morning,

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the MH-47 helicopter
carrying Sergeant Chapman

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and the Joint Special Operations team

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was ambushed as it attempted
to land on the mountaintop.

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(RPG explodes)

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The Chinook was rocked by RPG fire,

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knocking Petty Officer
First Class Neil Roberts

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from the helicopter and into
the frigid and unforgiving

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terrain of a snowy
mountaintop named Takur Ghar.

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- So we watched the helicopter move

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off of my right shoulder
from the west, moving south.

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Infilled, and then soon as it sat down

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on top of the mountaintop,

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we saw the RPG strike the aircraft,

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and then the aircraft
moved towards the valley.

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- We heard, "Mayday, mayday, mayday.

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"Any GRIM, any NALE, this is Mako 3-0."

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I got partnered up with a crew

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for an AC-130H Spectre gunship.

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On board, I was the
direct support operator,

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which was an extra sensor that was there

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for surveillance and
support to ground forces

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and the aircraft itself.

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We established radio contact with them

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and set up an initial orbit
over the downed helicopter.

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When we were doing that,

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we learned from Mako 3-0
Tech Sergeant John Chapman,

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their combat controller.

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Sergeant Chapman at that
point was telling us

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that they had lost a teammate.

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- [Narrator] Alone against the elements,

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and separated from his team
with enemy personnel closing in,

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Roberts was in desperate need of support.

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Despite having to make a
controlled crash landing

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eight kilometers away, back at Gardez,

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the team elected to mount
an immediate and daring

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rescue attempt to bring Roberts back.

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(machine gun fires)

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At 4:57 a.m., after reconstituting,

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the team returned to Takur
Ghar on another Chinook,

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in order to locate and rescue Roberts,

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despite knowing that they were
headed into enemy territory,

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and struggling against
unfavorable conditions.

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- These guys knew that
they were going right back

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into the same spot that their
original aircraft was shot up,

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and they lost a teammate out
the back end of the helicopter.

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So these guys, they knew
what risk they were facing,

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and they charged right back in there

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to save one of their very own.

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- [Narrator] Upon touching down,

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Sergeant Chapman immediately
identified and engaged

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a concealed enemy bunker in
front and above his team.

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- He charged that initial
bunker, and then from there

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what my aircraft commander described as

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"the firefight in a phone
booth" just unfolded.

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- [Narrator] Chapman assaulted through

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and cleared the bunker,
killing two enemy combatants.

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(machine gun fires)

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Sergeant Chapman moved into the open

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to engage the second enemy bunker,

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and protect his teammates.

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Chapman was struck and
critically injured by enemy fire.

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- We saw tracer fire,
mortars, explosions, RPGs.

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I mean, there was a lot of activity.

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(machine guns fire)

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Next thing you know,
the team popped smoke,

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and they start to withdraw
from the immediate area.

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And we're following the team
from the initial infill site,

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and where their fighting positions were,

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as they broke contact
a couple hundred meters

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down the mountain.

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So, as all of this was going on,

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our sensor on board saw
a completely separate

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IR strobe come active.

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So, Mako 3-0, the main
element, had withdrawn

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a couple hundred meters,

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but all of a sudden at the original point,

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there was an IR strobe active again.

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When you go back and
look at the culmination

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of all of the sensor footages
that we didn't have access to

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on board the aircraft or
in the immediate aftermath,

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it became absolutely clear that it was

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Tech Sergeant John Chapman.

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- We were located
approximately three and a half

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to four klicks just
north of the mountaintop,

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approximately about
10,000 to 11,000 feet up.

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At the time I believe that there
were two separate elements,

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one that had gone down or had
moved down the mountaintop,

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and there was another element that was

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on top of the mountain,
continuing to fight

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in that bunker location.

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- [Narrator] Sustaining
a violent engagement

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with multiple enemy personnel,
and despite severe wounds,

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Sergeant Chapman continued
the fight relentlessly.

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Throughout the next hour,

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the enemy bombarded
Chapman's bunker position

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with machine gun fire,
rocket-propelled grenades,

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and flanking movements.

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- I was the lead combat controller, JTAC,

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with the Quick Reaction Force.

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Two of you lost service members.

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Sun was coming up, it was just about dawn.

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We did one pass over the mountaintop,

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and on that second pass,
we began to flare to land.

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That is when we received
heavy RPG and small arms fire.

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- [Narrator] At 6:11 a.m.

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with the QRF helicopter
quickly approaching,

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Sergeant Chapman placed himself
in a precarious position

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by leaving the bunker and
moving into the open once again

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to engage the RPG team
preparing to assault

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the incoming rescue force.

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Effective enemy machine
gun fire struck Chapman.

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(helicopter rotors whoosh)

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This time, Chapman's
final, desperate attempt

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to defeat the enemy would
result in his death.

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- He sacrificed himself
for the QRF that came in.

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- I think if John Chapman
had not have been alive

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at that day, at that moment,
the outcome of the insertion

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of the helicopter I was in with the QRF

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may have been drastically different.

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By him being there and
laying suppressive fire

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in that position as we
were flaring to land,

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absolutely reduced the amount of rounds

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the enemy was able to put into
the side of the helicopter.

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- He volunteered to go
back after he had landed

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back at Gardez.

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He didn't have to go.

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And he did it because
he loved what he did,

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he loved his country, and
that I'll never forget.

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(slow, somber music)