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CNN Saturday Morning News

Family Mourns Death of Chapman

Aired January 05, 2002 - 08:33   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.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: The parents of the first U.S. soldier killed by hostile fire in Afghanistan say that he was a devoted family member, who considered his Army unit his second family. Sergeant First Class Nathan Chapman was a member of a special forces group based at Fort Lewis, Washington.

CNN's Lillian Kim joins us from Fort Lewis this morning.

Good morning to you, Lillian.

LILLIAN KIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Marty. Sergeant First Class Nathan Ross Chapman was based here at Fort Lewis, Washington for most of his military career. The green beret communications specialist joined the Army 13 years ago. Before Afghanistan, Chapman served in Panama, Haiti, and Operation Desert Storm. He leaves behind a wife and two children, a 2-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old son.

Chapman's parents live in Georgetown, Texas. Last night, they released a statement, quote: "As Sergeant Chapman's parents, we are so proud that he had grown into such a wonderful son. He was a proud father, loving husband, and devoted to serving his country. He loved the Army and referred to his unit as his second family."

Now Chapman is the first American soldier killed by enemy fire since the war in Afghanistan began. The people here at Fort Lewis are, of course, shaken by the news.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, it could have been a friend. It could've been a love one, could've been anyone. And it brings it a lot closer. Could've been one of our customers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have really a lot of respect for my guys that are in the military.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When something like this happens, I think it probably hits every military family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Definitely makes the world a lot smaller when you realize that somebody from your base, that you could be leaving at any time, that it was actually here and not, you know, Fort Drum or people that go to all the places. It was Fort Lewis. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, it's a big concern for a lot of people because it could more to follow this. So this could be the start of something.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

KIM: Later today, we are expecting to hear more from Chapman's parents and from his commander here at Fort Lewis. That is the latest from Fort Lewis, Washington. I'm Lillian Kim.

Marty, back to you.

SAVIDGE: Lillian, you -- I mentioned actually some of those people you spoke to there, talking about the prospect of them going over to Afghanistan. Is there any indication that Fort Lewis may be sending more troops in?

KIM: We don't have any details on that yet. They are expecting to -- we are expecting to hear from them at a news conference later today and then more information will be coming out. But at this point, we have no idea.

SAVIDGE: All right, Lillian Kim, reporting to us live from Fort Lewis. Thanks very much.

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