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CNN Live Today
First American Soldier Killed in Afghanistan Honored
Aired May 27, 2002 - 12:08 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, here in the United States, it is Memorial Day for a nation at war. And, of course, we are talking about the war on terrorism, which has cost the lives of more than three dozen Americans, including 15 directly killed in combat in Afghanistan.
In Texas this hour, the first American soldier killed is being honored by his family. CNN's Ed Lavandera is there to tell us the story about Sergeant Nathan Chapman. And I remember the day we had to report that death. It was a sad one indeed.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Carol. And behind me you see the ceremony here in Georgetown, Texas -- which is about a half-hour drive north of Austin -- is underway here.
First Class Sergeant Nathan Chapman was the first soldier killed by enemy fire in Afghanistan. And the guests of honor at the ceremony today are his parents. And a few days ago we had a chance to catch up with the Chapmans, who have spent the last four and a half months coping with the death of their son.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL CHAPMAN, FATHER: The case contains the flag that was given to Lynn at the funeral. It shows his combat infantryman's badge, the one that he now has for both his service and...
LAVANDERA (voice-over): When you walk inside Will and Lynn Chapman's home, there is an instant reminder of the price this family has paid because of the war on terror. Their son, Sergeant First Class Nathan Chapman, was a Green Beret in the Army's special forces unit.
W. CHAPMAN: His jumpmaster wings. He was a combat scuba diver.
LAVANDERA: He was the first American soldier killed by enemy fire in Afghanistan.
W. CHAPMAN: We wanted to avoid creating a shrine to the kid. And so we thought this was such a beautiful thing that the Army gave us, that this would be basically the only thing that we would put out here. And this looked like a good place for it.
LAVANDERA (on camera): How often do you guys, if you're in the house by yourself or together, do you come by here and look at this?
W. CHAPMAN: I do it frequently.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Chapman was killed on January 4 by al Qaeda fighters. Almost five months later, his parents allow us into their home to talk about their son and what his life meant. Memorial Day has a way of inspiring thoughtful reflection.
(on camera): Before Nathan died, was it a holiday you paid a lot of attention to? And will that change from now on?
W. CHAPMAN: To me, Memorial Day meant the day that we honored the men and women who served our country and died for our country. But those were men or women for the most part that we didn't know. Now, we have a son that joins those ranks. And, of course, it's now a more personal holiday.
LAVANDERA: This has been, what, four and a half months?
LYNN CHAPMAN, MOTHER: Five months.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The Chapmans have received more than 600 letters. They've responded to each one.
L. CHAPMAN: The most touching thing to us has been the letters from people who knew Nathan and told us about their experiences with him.
LAVANDERA: But there's one letter Lynn Chapman will always cherish, written by her son 12 years ago.
L. CHAPMAN: This is a letter that Nathan sent to us when he went to Panama. He jumped into Panama and we did not know that he was gone. We were really worried. He found a piece of cardboard, wrote us this letter, just like this.
LAVANDERA (on camera): It has to make you feel good that he'd go through this much trouble just to let you know today, everything's OK, right?
L. CHAPMAN: It really did. It really did. It was just the sweetest thing, you know. He could write a very good letter.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Mrs. Chapman doesn't want us to show the words. She's been waiting to share them at a Memorial Day gathering with friends.
(on camera): When someone asks you what was he like, what's the first thing you say?
L. CHAPMAN: He was a happy guy. He was happy and he was sensitive. He cared so much for other people.
LAVANDERA: Very likely if there will be many more families like y'alls.
(voice-over): Nathan Chapman has a wife and two young children who are also coping with the tremendous loss.
W. CHAPMAN: Nathan was the first. I guess I wish he had been the only one. But that's not the case and we don't know where the end will be.
Freedom isn't cheap. You know, to keep our freedom, that's a continuous battle.
LAVANDERA: Lynn Chapman hopes one day, she'll put all these letters and clippings in a scrapbook so that young Amanda and Brandon can learn about their heroic father.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA (on camera): Back here at the ceremony in Georgetown, Texas. Will Chapman and his wife Lynn have just been introduced to the crowd here. And the letter that Lynn Chapman was talking about that she got from Nathan 12 years ago after he had parachuted into Panama, she says that she mentioned she didn't want to read that to us on camera.
She's going to share that with the group of people who are she will share that with people here shortly. In a short while she'll read the contents of that letter. For her, it's a very personal experience and one thing that she'll cherish for the rest of her life. At one point, she said she thought she had lost that letter, and she spent the last couple of months scrambling to find it in her house.
It turned up a few months ago, and she said that she has spend a lot of time crying until she had found that letter. So we expect to hear from them here soon, and we'll bring it to you live as the Chapmans take the podium here in Georgetown, Texas -- Carol, back to you.
LIN: All right. Thank you very much, Ed. And feel free to interrupt us as we go when she does -- Mrs. Chapman does take the podium, Ed Lavandera.
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