The story of how Air Force Master Sgt. John Chapman, who received the Medal of Honor, is set to come to the big screen.
Marine veteran and actor Adam Driver will portray Chapman in the film, which will reportedly be called “Alone at Dawn.”
According to Task & Purpose, Chapman was part of a special operations mission during the Battle of Takar Gur in early 2002 in Afghanistan. Attached to a Navy SEAL team, Chapman flew in to establish a reconnaissance spot during Operation Anaconda. Their helicopter took RPG fire and Navy SEAL Neil Roberts fell out. Chapman and the SEALs eventually returned to look for Roberts and were immediately pinned down in a firefight.
Chapman and the SEAL team fought on, according to Task & Purpose. Roberts charged a bunker, killing two fighters as the SEALs moved to cover. Within minutes, Roberts was hit and the SEALs believed he was dead. But Chapman was still alive, a years-long investigation later proved, and eventually recovered consciousness after the SEAL team withdrew. Over the following hours, other Air Force combat controllers on the operation’s radio network believed they heard Chapman make radio calls, Task & Purpose reported.
“I am absolutely positive [it] was John’s voice. I have no doubt whatsoever,” eventually one unnamed operator told investigators.
Two AC-130 gunships and a Predator drone circling the mountaintop captured night-vision video and radio traffic from the mountain top. According to Task & Purpose, investigators eventually pieced through those files and realized that, though the aircrews did not realize it that night, the cameras and audio captured gunfire and enemy radio descriptions of Chapman fighting through the night.
Chapman held off al-Qaeda fighters despite being badly injured, killing one militant in hand-to-hand combat. Hours later, a rescue force consisting of Army Rangers and Air Force special operators approached via helicopter, Task & Purpose reported. While the fighters on the ridgetop were in position to ambush the helicopter, Chapman laid down covering fire, drawing attention to himself as the helicopter approached.
Chapman was posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross in 2003. After years of efforts, his Air Force Cross was officially updated to the Medal of Honor in 2018, according to Task & Purpose. Chapman was the first airman to earn the highest military honor since the Vietnam War. His death was the first Medal of Honor action to be captured on video.
“Despite severe, mortal wounds, he continued to fight relentlessly, sustaining a violent engagement with multiple enemy personnel before making the ultimate sacrifice,” Chapman’s Medal of Honor citation reads. “By his heroic actions and extraordinary valor, sacrificing his life for the lives of his teammates, Technical Sergeant Chapman upheld the highest traditions of military service and reflected great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.”
Driver joined the Marine Corps following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, becoming a mortar man in 1st Battalion, 1st Marines. Medically discharged from the Corps, Driver has been nominated for an Academy Award twice, for his work in “Marriage Story” and “BlacKKKlansman.”
Ron Howard is set to direct the film, which will be based on a book of the same title written by Air Force veteran Dan Schilling and Lori Chapman Longfrit, Chapman’s sister.
The feature film is being made for Amazon MGM. No release date has been set.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.