Alone at Dawn

April 29, 2019
In this informative and sometimes moving account, author and military veteran Schilling and Longritz pay tribute to Longritz’s brother, Medal of Honor winner John Chapman. The story of his life includes a history of the Special Forces organization he worked for and loved, the Air Force Combat Control Teams, as well as an account of the brutal 2002 battle on Takur Ghar mountain in Afghanistan where he died saving 23 other American soldiers. Chapman was a member of the Air Force’s Combat Control program, which specializes in facilitating air power in conjunction with ground forces. He deployed to Afghanistan and choppered into the mountains as part of Operation Anaconda. Upon landing with his team and coming under intense fire, he charged and single-handedly destroyed an enemy bunker. After he was seriously wounded, his team, thinking he was dead, abandoned their position. Chapman regained consciousness and continued to fight, alone, until he was killed. The authors contend that Operation Anaconda was badly flawed, and the loss of seven men on the mountain resulted from botched planning and execution by the team’s superior officers. The pacing heightens the tale’s immediacy, and reconstruction of Chapman’s inner experience packs an emotional punch. This paean to heroism will strike a chord with fans of combat narratives. Agent: Larry Weissman, Larry Weissman Literary.