Soon after the terror attacks of September 11th, John volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan.

He walked into his superior's office and said, I need to go.

In one of the most harrowing engagements of Operation Enduring Freedom,

John was part of a highly trained team on a combat mission to establish a secure position on the peak of Tarkar Gar Mountain.

In the early morning of March 4, 2012, John and his teammates were preparing to land onto the mountain when their helicopter was struck by heavy machine gunfire and a rocket propelled

grenade. They were under serious attack. As the helicopter lurched away, petty officer first-class

Neil Roberts was flung out of the aircraft and onto the top of the mountain as the

helicopter crash landed into the valley below. It was a horrific crash. The team survived

the crash and without hesitation, they volunteered to return to the mountain. They wanted to get Neil.

They landed into a deep snow and heavy machine gun fire

coming from three different directions.

Couldn't even see so many bullets.

At over 10,000 feet, they fought the enemy

at the highest altitude of any battle

in the history of the American military.

John Chapin was the first to charge up the mountain toward the enemy.

He killed two terrorists and cleared out the first bunker.

John left the safety of the first bunker to fire a second enemy grenade at another bunker.

As John fired on the second bunker, he was shot and fell to the ground and lost consciousness.

Even though he was mortally wounded, John regained consciousness and continued to fight on, and he really fought. We have proof of that fight.

He really fought.

Good genes. You have good genes.

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