Chapman, Nathan Ross
Male
Verified U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Nathan Ross Chapman, 31, of San Antonio, Texas, was killed by enemy fire on January 4, 2002, in Khost, Afghanistan, during Operation Enduring Freedom.
Their Story
Nathan Ross Chapman was born on April 23, 1970, and grew up in San Antonio, Texas. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1988 and became a Special Forces communications sergeant. Chapman was assigned to Company C, 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), based at Fort Lewis, Washington, and had served in operations in Panama and the Persian Gulf prior to his deployment to Afghanistan.
On January 4, 2002, Chapman was part of a small team of U.S. Special Forces and CIA officers operating near the town of Khost in eastern Afghanistan. According to military reports, the team was ambushed by small-arms fire from local militants after a meeting. Chapman was struck and killed in the firefight. He was the first American service member to die from hostile fire in the Afghanistan war following the U.S.-led invasion in October 2001.
Chapman's death occurred during the initial phase of Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S. military campaign launched in response to the September 11, 2001, attacks. The operation aimed to dismantle the Taliban regime and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. In late 2001, U.S. and allied Afghan forces had captured major cities, but Taliban and al-Qaeda remnants regrouped in mountainous regions along the Afghan-Pakistani border, including the area around Khost.
News of Chapman's death was confirmed by the Pentagon on January 7, 2002. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star Medal. His body was returned to the United States, and he was buried with full military honors at Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent, Washington.
Sergeant First Class Chapman is remembered as the first U.S. combat casualty in the Afghanistan war. His name is inscribed on the Afghanistan and Iraq War Memorial at the University of Texas at San Antonio and is listed on the Global War on Terrorism Memorial at MacDill Air Force Base.
Explore Further
SFC Nathan Chapman was killed during Operation Enduring Freedom (2001?2014). The conflict concluded in December 2014. See the full roster of those killed in this conflict.
Among those documented in the same conflict: Andrews, Evander Earl, Edmunds, Jonn Joseph, Stonesifer, Kristofor Tif, Davis, Bryant Leroy.
