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U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Jeffrey Guilman, 24th Special Operations Wing command chief, left, holds the door open for Valerie Nessel, the widow of U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. John Chapman, as she is welcomed by Col. Claude K. Tudor, Jr., 24 SOW commander, August 20, 2018, at the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The White House announced July 27 that Air Force Tech. Sgt. John Chapman will be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his selfless acts of heroism during the Battle of Takur Ghar while deployed to Afghanistan in March of 2002. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Peter Thompson)

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Valerie Nessel, right, the widow of U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. John Chapman, walks alongside her daughter Brianna, center, as they are embraced with support from their local community at Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport, Florida, Aug. 20, 2018. President Donald Trump will posthumously award the Medal of Honor to Chapman's family at a ceremony on August 22 for his extraordinary heroism in March 2002 while deployed to Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Peter Thompson)

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U.S. Air Force Col. Claude Tudor, commander of the 24th Special Operations Wing, waits alongside Hurlburt Field leadership for the arrival of the family of U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. John Chapman, a special tactics combat controller, at Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport, Florida, Aug. 20, 2018. Special Tactics combines the core skills of Special Operation Forces with the tactical integration of air power to find unique solutions for ground problems. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Peter Thompson)

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Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Kaleth O. Wright greets Valerie Nessel, the spouse of U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. John Chapman, at the Double Tree Pentagon City Hotel in Arlington, Va., Aug. 20, 2018. Sergeant Chapman will be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor Aug. 22, 2018, for actions on Takur Ghar mountain in Afghanistan on March 4, 2002. An elite special operations team was ambushed by the enemy and came under heavy fire from multiple directions. Chapman immediately charged an enemy bunker through high-deep snow and killed all enemy occupants. Courageously moving from cover to assault a second machine gun bunker, he was injured by enemy fire. Despite severe wounds, he fought relentlessly, sustaining a violent engagement with multiple enemy personnel before making the ultimate sacrifice. With his last actions he saved the lives of his teammates. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Rusty Frank)

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Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Kaleth O. Wright poses for a photo with the family of U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. John Chapman, at the Double Tree Pentagon City Hotel in Arlington, Va., Aug. 20, 2018. Sergeant Chapman will be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor Aug. 22, 2018, for actions on Takur Ghar mountain in Afghanistan on March 4, 2002. An elite special operations team was ambushed by the enemy and came under heavy fire from multiple directions. Chapman immediately charged an enemy bunker through high-deep snow and killed all enemy occupants. Courageously moving from cover to assault a second machine gun bunker, he was injured by enemy fire. Despite severe wounds, he fought relentlessly, sustaining a violent engagement with multiple enemy personnel before making the ultimate sacrifice. With his last actions he saved the lives of his teammates. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Rusty Frank)

Chapman family travels for Medal of Honor ceremony

Published Aug. 21, 2018
Secretary of the Air Force and 33rd Fighter Wing Public Affairs

HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. --