Air Force Master Sgt. John Chapman died during the Battle of Takur Ghar in Afghanistan, March 4, 2002. He was the first airman to receive the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War, and the 19th in the service’s history. (U.S. Air Force)

A petition calling for the National Medal of Honor Museum to include a dedicated exhibit for Air Force Master Sgt. John Chapman has revived longstanding criticism that the Navy SEAL community sought to “diminish his contributions.”

More than 24,000 people have signed the Change.org petition requesting that the museum add Chapman’s story to approximately 200 focused presentations when it opens next month in Arlington, Texas.

Chapman, a combat controller, was killed in action on March 4, 2002, during the Battle of Takur Ghar in Afghanistan. He was the first airman to receive the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War and only the 19th in the service’s history.

His photo will be displayed at the museum entrance, and his story will be included in a video inside, his sister, Lori Chapman Longfritz, wrote Jan. 10 on Facebook.

However, she argued that his legacy warrants a dedicated display, similar to one planned for retired Navy SEAL Master Chief Petty Officer Britt Slabinski, who fought alongside Chapman that day.

“The museum’s choice to honor Britt Slabinsky without acknowledging John Chapman appears influenced by politics and seems like an extension of the Naval Special Warfare’s efforts to diminish Chapman’s contributions,” states the petition, written by David Parke, who identified himself as a veteran of the Army, Navy and Marine Corps.

Slabinski, who attended Chapman’s Medal of Honor ceremony in 2018, has credited Chapman with saving the lives of their team at Takur Ghar and supported his posthumous award.

Longfritz said the museum initially indicated her brother would receive a dedicated exhibit but later reversed course.

“This whole thing has blown up and didn’t have to happen,” she told Stars and Stripes via Facebook Messenger on Jan. 30.

Members of the Special Operations community gather in front of a mural during the Medal of Honor ceremony for Air Force Master Sgt. John Chapman at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Aug. 28, 2018. (Kristin High/U.S. Air Force)

Debate over selections

In her message to Stars and Stripes, Longfritz reiterated claims that Slabinski, now a museum board member, left her mortally wounded brother behind on the mountain.

That allegation, along with reports of interservice tensions over competing accounts of heroism, resurfaced when both men were awarded the Medal of Honor.

In an interview with The New York Times published Aug. 17, 2016, Slabinski “acknowledged that he might have made a mistake under intense fire” in believing Chapman was dead and said he was “still haunted by what happened on the mountain.”

Slabinski did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Stars and Stripes through the museum and the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.

His story was chosen for inclusion in an extensive exhibit featuring multiple recipients, which will rotate over time, museum vice president Cory Crowley said in an email Wednesday.

“Neither Slabinski nor any of the seven Medal of Honor recipients who have served on our board since exhibit planning began had a role in selecting the recipients included in the first rotation,” he wrote. “Decisions about the included recipients were made by a team of museum professionals employed by our foundation and an outside advisory board.”

The museum shared plans for Chapman’s presentation with Longfritz during a visit, Crowley said. The museum did incorporate text suggested by the family to highlight Chapman’s role as a combat controller, he added.

The National Medal of Honor Museum, pictured here in a computer rendering, is set to open next month in Arlington, Texas. (National Medal of Honor Museum)

‘Left behind again’

Longfritz’s Facebook comments prompted Parke to launch the petition in support of a Chapman exhibit.

“I felt as though John Chapman was getting left behind again,” he told Stars and Stripes by phone on Feb. 1.

In 2002, Chapman was a technical sergeant serving on Slabinski’s SEAL team when their Chinook helicopter landed under fire to rescue Petty Officer 1st Class Neil Roberts, who had fallen from the aircraft.

Chapman and Slabinski stormed an al-Qaida position, clearing it in close combat, according to their Medal of Honor citations.

Chapman was gravely wounded and lost consciousness as Slabinski maneuvered the team — including multiple wounded personnel — to a more defensible position. Slabinski continued fighting and called in airstrikes until the team was extracted the following day.

Chapman, however, regained consciousness and continued battling enemy fighters for an hour before an Army Ranger assault force arrived.

As a second Chinook helicopter approached, Chapman charged two al-Qaida fighters preparing to launch rocket-propelled grenades, firing on them before being killed by enemy fire.

Crowley, aware of the petition, acknowledged that Chapman deserves further recognition but said the museum is unlikely to alter its initial exhibits. He emphasized that space limitations prevent the museum from creating individual displays for each of the thousands of Medal of Honor recipients.

However, he said Chapman’s story could receive more focus in the future.

“We’ve had very nice conversations with John Chapman’s widow, and she was able to give us a few pieces of memorabilia,” Crowley said. “We’re working to further develop that relationship so that, hopefully, she’ll want to entrust us with the things we need to do a deeper dive on his story in the future.”

A Medal of Honor plaque for Master Sgt. John Chapman was unveiled during a ceremony at Airmen’s Heritage Park at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas, March 4, 2021. (Sean Worrell/U.S. Air Force)