breast cancer in a woman with previously universal fatal form of the disease. onouncer: watch in primetime c-span, c-span.org, and listen on the free c-span radio app. c-span, where history unfolds daily. c-span was created as a public service by america's cable television companies. you unfiltered coverage of congress, the white , and, the supreme court public policy events in washington dc and around the country. you byis brought to your cable or satellite provider. announcer: president trump awarded the medal of honor to the family of an airman killed in afghanistan. sergeant john chapman was killed in action by enemy fire in 2002. several of sergeant chapman's

teammates within the day he was killed were present for the ceremony. this is 20 minutes. ♪ >> for those who desire, may you join me now in prayer. holy father, we thank you for

this day, for this national recognition for sergeant john chapman. lord, we enter this esteemed a ceremony with hearts filled with grief and pride. our grief stems from the pride pain of john's sacrifice along with six other courageous americans who lost their lives in noble service to our nation in the cause of human freedom and dignity. our pride stems on this day from , focused upon the man you created, gifted and empowered with an unconventional resolve to operate selflessly in protecting his family, his teammates, and the world from the evil of terrorism. for the you, lord, opportunity to honor john chapman with america's highest decoration for his heroic valor. to honor the enduring sacrifice his family carries deeply within their hearts. and to honor the legacy and inspiration that john has infused into the mission, the

leadership, and the operations of air force special tactics. lord, your just intent of overcoming evil with good in this world through human agency found fearless expression in john. even in the face of death, so others may live. we thank you for john. we thank you for his family. we thank you for his unforgettable life and love shaped by your very spirit. father, as we move forward this day, may your presence be tangibly known to john's family. as we move forward, may his john sacrifice motivate selfless duty to you, to country, and to humanity. and as we move forward, may we give thanks to our great nation, our great military, and our great liberties that rest upon the bravery and blood of selfless patriots like technical sergeant john chapman. to this end we pray, amen. >> amen. pres. trump: thank you very

much. please be seated. thank you. thank you, chaplain. very well done, beautiful. we are honored to be joined by members of congress, military leaders, distinguished guests from all across our nation. i want to recognize secretary of the air force heather wilson. thank you. heather, thank you. air force chief of staff david. david, thank you. it has been 19 years i think, right, the air force giving the congressional of medal of honor, so congratulations. it is a long time. very deserving. air force undersecretary matthew donovan, air force vice chief of staff stephen wilson, and chief master sergeant of the air force kathleen wright. i also want to thank the a v.a. secretary robert wilkie

for joining us. you are doing a great job. at the vets are very happy and i hear a lot great reports. along with senators john bozeman, richard blumenthal, bob casey, chris murphy, and pat toomey. and representative matt gaetz and john larson, thank you for being here. thank you. appreciate it. we are gathered here this afternoon to pay tribute to our fallen warrior, a great warrior, technical sergeant john chapman and to award him our nations 's highest and most revered military honor. would you all please join me in welcoming a wonderful family that i just met in the oval office, the chapman family. thank you. please stand up. [applause]

pres. trump: and to his beautiful wife, valerie, who agrees that he was a very brave man right from the beginning. right, you knew that? i know that this day has truly brought special meaning, exactly 26 years ago, you married john. today, it is our great honor to share his incredible story with the world, so thank you very much, valerie. appreciate it. and your daughters, madison and breanna. we award your dad the congressional medal of honor. i know he is looking down on you right now from heaven, proud of this day, but even more proud of the incredible young women that you have both become.

it is great to know you. great to have met you. thank you. we are also grateful to be joined by john's wonderful mom, his sister, his brother kevin, and valerie's parents, rita and jim novak. you for being here. a great honor. [applause] pres. trump: though she could not be here today, somebody that john loved very much, his sister tammy, so please give our regards. thank you. i also want to recognize jack, john's friend and combat control teammate, who is still recovering from a recent severe injury. jack, thank you for your noble service. thank you. we appreciate it. thank you, jack. [applause]

pres. trump: looks like you are doing well. doing well? good. thank you, jack. finally, we salute the five congressional medal of honor recipients who join us. woody williams, harvey barnum, edward byers, brian thacker, and britt slavinsky. -- and britt slavinsky. please stand. [applause] pres. trump: brave people, three months ago, i awarded the medal his heroic britt for actions in the same battle we are remembering today. john chapman grew up in windso connecticut. from a very young age, john was determined to protect those in need. in kindergarten, john noticed that his classmate was being

, bill brooks, was being bullied. as ill says, john stepped in and saved me. in his high school yearbook, john quoted these words, "give yourself before taking of someone else." very farsighted. john lived by that motto every single day. everybody that new him said that is the way he lived. two years after he graduated high school, john enlisted in the united states air force. he was among the elite few to complete air force special tactics training, one of the most rigorous training programs in all of the military. john became an expert in the flowing undetected onto the battlefield to set up airfields and direct fire support. now, john will become the first special tactics airman to

receive the congressional medal of honor. in pennsylvania while he was training with the army. it was a big day, a good day, right? they married in 1992, and soon their love grew into a beautiful family. whenever john was home, he took on dad duty, reading to the girls, playing with them and even building an amazing swing set. do you remember that? it was a long time ago. the swing set. soon after the terror attacks of september 11, john volunteered to deploy to afghanistan. he walked into his superior's office and said, i need to go. during one of the most harrowing engagements during enduring freedom, john was part of a team on a combat mission to establish a secure position on the peak of a mountain. in the early morning of march 4,

2002, john and his teammates were preparing to land on the mountain when their helicopter were struck by heavy machine-gun fire and a rocket propelled grenade. they were under serious attack. away, helicopter lurched petty officer first class there robert was flung out of the aircraft and onto the top of the mountain as the helicopter crash landed into the valley below. it was a horrific crash. the team survived the crash in and without hesitation they volunteered to return to the mountain. they wanted to get neil. they landed in a deep snow and heavy machine-gun fire coming from three different directions. you could not even see, so many bullets. at over 10,000 feet, they fought the enemy at the highest altitude of any battle in the history of the american military.

john chapman was the first to charge up the mountain toward the enemy. he killed two terrorists and cleared out the first bunker. john left the safety of the bunker to fire a second enemy grenade at another bunker. as john fired on the second bunker, he was shot and fell to the ground. and lost consciousness. even though he was mortally wounded, john regained consciousness and continued to fight on. and he really fought. we have proof of that fight. he really thought. good genes, you have good genes. he immediately began firing at the enemy, who was bombarding him with machine-gun fire and rocket propelled grenades. despite facing overwhelming force, john bravely and fiercely battled on for over an hour.

. as another american quick reaction force helicopter approached, john engaged the enemy and provided covering fire in attempt to prevent the enemy from shooting down our soldiers. our airmen, and that helicopter. in his final act of supreme courage, john gave his life for his fellow warriors. through his extraordinary sacrifice, john helped save more than 20 american service members, some of whom are here today. and i would like to introduce them. sergeant major matthew, please stand up. thank you, sir. [applause] pres. trump: sergeant major raymond, thank you. [applause] pres. trump: special tactics major gabriel brown. [applause]

pres. trump: his team leader, master chief britt slabinksi. [applause] thank you. thank you all. we remember when john gave his life on that snowy, really cold afghan night. petty officer first class neil roberts, specialist mark anderson, sergeant bradley crows, senior airman jason cunningham, technical sergeant philip, and corporal matthew commons, our nation is rich with blessings but our greatest blessings of all are the patriots like a john and all of you that just stood, and frankly many of the people in this room, i exclude myself and a few of the politicians. [laughter]

kerry freedom on to their shoulders last to the very press so we can live in safety and peace. now it is my privilege to ask valerie to join me on stage to accept the congressional medal of honor on behalf of the hero she loved and the hero our nation will forever remember, technical sergeant john chapman. thank you. please. please, valerie. thank you. [applause] pres. trump: would the military aid please come forward and read the citation. thank you. >> the president of the united states of america has awarded in the name of congress the medal of honor posthumously to

technical sergeant john chapman, united states air force for conspicuous gallantry at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. technical sergeant john a. chapman distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism as an air force special tactics combat controller attached to a land and air seal team conducting reconnaissance operations in afghanistan on march 4, two thousand two. during insertion, the team's helicopter was ambushed, causing a teammate to fall into an entrenched group of combatants below. sergeant chapman and the team voluntarily reinserted onto the snowcapped mountain into the heart of a known enemy stronghold to rescue one of their own. without regard for his own safety, sergeant chapman engaged , moving in the direction of the closest enemy position despite coming under heavy fire from multiple directions. he fearlessly charged and enemy

-- charged an enemy bunker in five deep snow and into hostile fire, directly engaging the enemy. upon reaching the bunker, he assaulted and clear the position, killing all enemy occupants. with complete disregard for his own life, sergeant chapman deliberately moved from cover 12 meters from the enemy and exposed himself again to attack a second bunker from which an emplaced machine gun was firing on his position. during this assault from an exposed position directly and the line of intense fire, sergeant chapman was struck and injured by enemy fire. despite severe mortal wounds, he continued to fight relentlessly, sustaining a violent engagement with multiple enemy personnel before making the ultimate sacrifice. by his heroic actions and extraordinary valor, sacrificing his life for the life of his -- lives of his teammates, sergeant chapman upheld the highest traditions of military service and reflected great credit upon himself and the united states air force.

[applause] [cheers and applause]

>> for those of you who desire , i ask you to join me in prayer once more. lord, we thank you again for this honorable ceremony, for it is right to exult integrity, courage, and valor. we thank you again for john's life and love that looked beyond self preservation to the preservation of others, to the preservation of human worth and dignity, to the preservation of righteous governance around the world. we thank you again for building this man's heart, his mind and his fear this resolve that equally matched his war fighting skills so others may live. as we conclude, may john's family be covered with your lavish love and peace. may the uniformed sons and daughters of america know your empowerment and protection and

may you hasten the day, oh lord, where war will be no more. for your glory we pray. amen. >> amen.

pres. trump: thank you very much. [applause] announcer: looking ahead to this evening, a senate judiciary sub committee hears testimony on cyber threats at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. tomorrow, the operations and research at the national institutes of health. francis collins testifies at 10:00 a.m. eastern. in the afternoon, the current political climate in afghanistan , hosted by the hudson institute. live coverage thursday at 2:00 p.m., also on c-span.

the c-span bus is traveling across the country on a 50 capitals tour. dear is on its 39th stop in honolulu, asking folks what is the most important issue in hawaii. see the one of the big issues is will the have a place to live? to afford toable stay in the home of the birth? we have a huge homeless situation right now. we are looking for ways to take them off of the streets, to affo stay in the home of the but the problems will just get worse if we don't take care of it now. honolulu,d from hawaii, born and raised. one of the important issues i feel we are facing in hawaii is trying to manage work-life balance.

i work full time. my husband works full time. i work a part-time job. we have three young children and are trying to take care of everyone. >> for hawaii, we need to continue to promote our spirit, which is in itself a life form. it means kindness, unity. humility, and patience. if we can all promote and live within this spirit that the state of hawaii thinks of so could be great across the nation. announcer: watch on c-span, c-span.org or listen on the c-span radio app. announcer: a