{"id":37973,"date":"2020-06-18T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-18T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/06\/18\/the-medal-of-honor-why-is-it-withheld-from-parents\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:10:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:10:17","slug":"the-medal-of-honor-why-is-it-withheld-from-parents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2020\/06\/18\/the-medal-of-honor-why-is-it-withheld-from-parents\/","title":{"rendered":"The Medal of Honor: Why is it withheld from parents?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Master Sgt. John \u201cChappy\u201d Chapman is my brother. He gave his life on March 4, 2002, so others, most of whom he didn\u2019t know, could live. He was awarded the Air Force Cross in a ceremony on Jan. 10, 2003, during which both of my parents received his medal, as did his widow. In May 2015, then-Secretary of the Air Force Deborah James requested the names of airmen who might possibly have their awards upgraded to the Medal of Honor and John\u2019s name topped the list. Since John\u2019s death, we have always thought his Air Force Cross should have been the Medal of Honor, so we followed the story closely and tapped into personal sources to stay abreast. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, it took over two years for John\u2019s upgrade to be confirmed<\/a>, partly because of the change in the White House administration, but thanks to Col. Mike Wendelken and the countless hours his team put in to support the upgrade, John would finally be awarded what he earned. Long before President Trump signed John\u2019s upgrade package, we had been advised that, should it happen, only his widow would receive the medal because the nation\u2019s highest military honor is closely monitored. We were ensured, though, by various levels of the Air Force, that every effort would be made to allow Mom to receive the medal, too. My father passed away in January of 2004, so they only needed to approve one. The promise that \u201cit might happen\u201d was repeated almost up until the ceremony so our expectations were high that Mom, the woman who birthed a hero, would receive his medal. She deserved at least that.<\/p>\n\n\n\t