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:Nathan Chapman (soldier)

{{short description|United States Army soldier (1970–2002)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2021}}

{{Infobox military person

|name=Nathan Chapman

|image=Chapman Nathan-000.jpg

|caption=

|birth_date = {{birth date|1970|4|23}}

|death_date = {{death date and age|2002|1|4|1970|4|23}}

|birth_place= {{nowrap|Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, U.S.}}

|death_place= Gardez, Afghanistan{{KIA}}

|birth_name=Nathan Ross Chapman

|placeofburial=Tahoma National Cemetery, Kent, Washington

|placeofburial_label=

|nickname=

|allegiance={{flag|United States of America}}

|branch= {{flagicon image|Flag of the United States Army.svg}} United States Army

|serviceyears= 1988–2002

|rank=24px Sergeant First Class

|unit=1st Special Forces Group

|commands=

|battles=

{{tree list}}

{{tree list/end}}

|awards=File:Bronze Star Medal ribbon.svg Bronze Star

File:Purple Heart ribbon.svg Purple Heart

|relations=

|laterwork=

}}

Nathan Ross Chapman (April 23, 1970{{spaced ndash}}January 4, 2002) was a United States Army Sergeant First Class with the 1st Special Forces Group. He was the first American soldier to be killed by enemy action in the War in Afghanistan.{{Cite web |title=iCasualties Iraq: Afghanistan Fatalities |url=http://icasualties.org/App/AfghanFatalities?cause-contains=hostile%20fire&sort=d-date&order=asc&country-name-contains=united%20states&rank-not-equals=cia&rows=10 |access-date=2024-03-17 |website=icasualties.org}}

Early life and education

The son of Wilbur and Lynn Chapman, Chapman was born at Andrews Air Force Base, where his father was stationed at the time. Chapman grew up in a variety of towns across the United States, and graduated from Centerville High School, near Dayton, Ohio. He listed his hometown as San Antonio, Texas when he joined the military at the age of 18. He had never lived in San Antonio, but that is where his grandparents lived.{{Cite web |last=Caldwell |first=Leigh Ann |date=10 July 2012 |title=Widow of first servicemember to die in Afghanistan War still struggling with loss, VA |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/widow-of-first-servicemember-to-die-in-afghanistan-war-still-struggling-with-loss-va/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210430063528/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/widow-of-first-servicemember-to-die-in-afghanistan-war-still-struggling-with-loss-va/ |archive-date=30 April 2021 |website=CBS News}}

Career

File:Chapmans Coffin.jpg

Chapman's military career spanned 13 years{{Cite web |date=January 7, 2002 |title=Soldier's body to arrive in the U.S. Tuesday |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2002/US/01/07/ret.soldier.killed/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181028161341/http://edition.cnn.com/2002/US/01/07/ret.soldier.killed/index.html |archive-date=28 October 2018 |access-date=August 11, 2019 |website=CNN}} and included combat service in Haiti, Panama, and the Persian Gulf War.{{Cite web |last=Murphy |first=Kim |date=11 January 2002 |title=Fallen Green Beret Is Eulogized |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-jan-11-mn-21965-story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220805214248/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-jan-11-mn-21965-story.html |archive-date=5 August 2022 |website=Los Angeles Times}} In 1989, he parachuted into Panama as part of the invasion during Operation Just Cause. He also served in Operation Desert Storm and later completed selection for the Army Special Forces at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Assigned to the 1st Special Forces Group following the 11 September attacks, Chapman was directing troop movements from the back of a flatbed truck when he was shot. He did not die instantly from the attack, which also saw a CIA Paramilitary Operations Officer from Special Activities Division wounded.{{Cite news |last=Bongioanni |first=Carlos |date=13 January 2002 |title=Okinawa service salutes Nate Chapman a former Torii Station Green Beret killed in Afghanistan |work=Stars and Stripes Pacific edition}}{{Cite web |last=Burns |first=John F. |date=9 February 2002 |title=A Nation Challenged: A Soldier's Story; U.S. War Victim Rode Into Afghan Turf Fight |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/09/international/asia/09SOLD.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305180500/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/09/world/a-nation-challenged-a-soldier-s-story-us-war-victim-rode-into-afghan-turf-fight.html |archive-date=5 March 2022 |website=The New York Times}} Although originally dubbed an "ambush", the military backed away from using the term.{{Cite web |date=January 9, 2002 |title=U.S. backs away from term 'ambush' in soldier death |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2002/US/01/09/ret.pentagon.chapman/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181028161336/http://edition.cnn.com/2002/US/01/09/ret.pentagon.chapman/index.html |archive-date=28 October 2018 |access-date=July 29, 2014 |publisher=CNN}}

He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star. Forward Operating Base Chapman was named after SFC Chapman.

On May 18, 2015, the CIA acknowledged Chapman had been detailed to a six-man CIA unit known as "Team Hotel" and unveiled a star on their memorial wall in his honor.{{Cite news |last=Gibbons-Neff |first=Thomas |date=April 17, 2016 |title=After 13 years, CIA honors Green Beret killed on secret Afghanistan mission |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/04/17/after-13-years-cia-honors-green-beret-killed-on-secret-afghanistan-mission/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417234025/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/04/17/after-13-years-cia-honors-green-beret-killed-on-secret-afghanistan-mission/ |archive-date=17 April 2016 |access-date=August 11, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}

Awards and decorations

SFC Chapman was awarded the following during his military career:{{cite web|title=Nathan Ross Chapman, SFC|url=https://greenberetfoundation.org/memorial/nathan-ross-chapman/|website=greenberetfoundation.com|date=January 4, 2002 |accessdate=August 26, 2022}}

style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"

|colspan="3" align="center"|235px

colspan="12" align="center"|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Bronze Star Medal ribbon.svg|106px}}21px
{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-leaf|ribbon=Purple Heart BAR.svg|width=106}}

|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|ribbon=Meritorious Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}

|{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=award-oak|ribbon=Army Commendation Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}

{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Army Achievement Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}21px21px21px

|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Army Good Conduct Medal ribbon.svg|width=109}}100px

|{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=National Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}

{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=service-star|ribbon=Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}24px

|{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=Southwest Asia Service Medal ribbon (1991-2016).svg|width=106}}

|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Afghanistan Campaign ribbon.svg|width=106}}

{{Ribbon devices|type=service-star|ribbon=Armed Forces Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}

|{{Ribbon devices|type=service-star|ribbon=Humanitarian Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}

|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=NCO_Professional_Development_Ribbon.svg|width=106}}16px

{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Army_Service_Ribbon.svg|width=106}}

|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=numeral|ribbon=Army Overseas Service Ribbon.svg|width=106}}

|106px

{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=NATO Medal Yugoslavia ribbon bar.svg|width=106}}

|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia) ribbon.svg|width=106}}

|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait) ribbon.svg|width=106}}

105px

|85px

|75px

colspan="6"|110px110px

class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
Badge

|colspan="12"|Combat Infantryman Badge
{{small|with star (denoting second award)}}

1st row

|colspan="12"|Bronze Star
{{small|with "V" device}}

2nd row

|colspan="4"|Purple Heart

|colspan="4"|Meritorious Service Medal

|colspan="4"|Army Commendation Medal
{{small|with 1 Oak leaf cluster (2 awards)}}

3rd row

|colspan="4"|Army Achievement Medal
{{small|with 3 Oak leaf clusters (4 awards)}}

|colspan="4"|Army Good Conduct Medal
{{small|with 3 Good conduct loops}}

|colspan="4"|National Defense Service Medal
{{small|with 1 Service star}}

4th row

|colspan="4"|Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
{{small|with Arrowhead device}}

|colspan="4"|Southwest Asia Service Medal
{{small|with 1 Campaign star}}

|colspan="4"|Afghanistan Campaign Medal

5th row

|colspan="4"|Armed Forces Service Medal

|colspan="4"|Humanitarian Service Medal

|colspan="4"|Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon
{{small|with Award numeral 3}}

6th row

|colspan="4"|Army Service Ribbon

|colspan="4"|Army Overseas Ribbon

|colspan="4"|United Nations Medal

7th row

|colspan="4"|NATO Medal
{{small|for ex-Yugoslavia}}

|colspan="4"|Kuwait Liberation Medal
{{small|(Saudi Arabia)}}

|colspan="4"|Kuwait Liberation Medal
{{small|(Kuwait)}}

Badges

|colspan="4"|Master Parachutist Badge
{{small|with 1 bronze combat jump star}}

|colspan="4"|Special Operations Diver Badge

|colspan="4"|Expert Marksmanship badge
{{small|with rifle component bar}}

Tabs

|colspan="6"|Special Forces Tab

|colspan="6"|Ranger Tab

class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"

!colspan="12"|Other accoutrements

200px

!Expert Infantryman Badge

100px

!1st Special Forces Command (Airborne)
{{small|Combat Service Identification Badge}}

80px

!United States Army Special Forces
{{small|Distinctive unit insignia}}

!Royal Thai Parachutist Badge

Personal life

File:Nathan Chapman Memorial Trail plaque.jpg

Chapman, his wife Renae and two children{{Cite web |last=Daly |first=Michael |date=January 4, 2010 |title=First American to die in Afghanistan, Nathan Chapman, remembered eight years later |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/american-die-afghanistan-nathan-chapman-remembered-years-article-1.457847 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160426115612/https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/american-die-afghanistan-nathan-chapman-remembered-years-article-1.457847 |archive-date=April 26, 2016 |access-date=August 10, 2019 |website=New York Daily News}} lived in Puyallup, Washington. He was buried at the Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent, Washington.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

There is a Nathan Chapman Memorial Trail in Pierce County, Washington.{{Cite web |title=Nathan Chapman Memorial Trail |url=https://www.co.pierce.wa.us/1401/Nathan-Chapman-Memorial-Trail |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515043126/https://www.piercecountywa.gov/1401/Nathan-Chapman-Memorial-Trail |archive-date=15 May 2021 |access-date=April 28, 2019 |website=Pierce County, Washington}}

On September 11, 2006, a casting commemorating Chapman was displayed "in Georgetown, Texas".{{Cite web |date=September 7, 2006 |title=Memorial Statue of First Soldier Killed during Operation Enduring Freedom Will be Unveiled in Georgetown, Texas, on 11 Sept. |url=https://www.chron.com/news/article/PRN-Memorial-Statue-of-First-Soldier-Killed-1884008.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616003026/https://www.chron.com/news/article/PRN-Memorial-Statue-of-First-Soldier-Killed-1884008.php |archive-date=June 16, 2020 |access-date=June 15, 2020 |website=Houston Chronicle |agency=PRNewswire}}

See also

References

{{reflist}}

External links

{{commons category}}

  • [https://www.soc.mil/Memorial%20Wall/Bios/Chapman_Nathan.pdf Bio at SOC.mil] [https://web.archive.org/web/20150910235057/https://www.soc.mil/Memorial%20Wall/Bios/Chapman_Nathan.pdf Archived]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, Nathan}}

Category:1970 births

Category:2002 deaths

Category:United States Army soldiers

Category:American military personnel killed in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)

Category:Assassinated CIA agents

Category:War on terror

Category:Members of the United States Army Special Forces

Category:People from Puyallup, Washington

Category:United States Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)

Category:Burials at Tahoma National Cemetery