A Family Remembers The 1st U.S. Soldier Killed In The War In Afghanistan (2024)

A Family Remembers The 1st U.S. Soldier Killed In The War In Afghanistan (1)

Keith and Lynn Chapman at their StoryCorps recording in Frederick, Md., on Aug. 20. StoryCorps hide caption

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StoryCorps

The last conversation Keith Chapman had with his younger brother Nathan Chapman was on Christmas Day 2001. Nathan had called up his family from Afghanistan.

Although the 31-year-old, a sergeant first class with the U.S. Army's 1st Special Forces Group, couldn't disclose his location, his family put it together based on what time Nathan said it was where he was calling from.

"I don't remember that we said very much," Keith said during a StoryCorps interview in Frederick, Md., last week with their mother, Lynn Chapman.

That wasn't so unusual. The brothers, just 2 1/2 years apart in age, had always had a complicated dynamic that was born from their two very different personalities.

A couple weeks after that phone call, Keith heard on his car radio that an American soldier had been killed in Afghanistan. He thought, "Well, yes, Nathan is there, but he's one of who knows how many? So, I put it out of my mind."

That is, until he got home that evening.

"My wife greets me at the door and says, 'I have bad news,' " he said.

"It was my birthday and I said, 'Oh, you burned the cake.' She says, 'No — your father called.' "

That's when it became clear to Keith: The fallen soldier was his own brother.

Nathan was killed in action near the town of Khost on Jan. 4, 2002. He was the first American soldier to be killed by enemy fire in the war in Afghanistan.

Chapman's death was just over a month after the first American death in combat in the war. Johnny "Mike" Spann, a 32-year-old CIA paramilitary officer from Alabama, was killed in late November 2001 during a revolt of Taliban prisoners in northern Afghanistan.

Since then, America's longest foreign war has claimed the lives of nearly 2,500 service members in the 20-year U.S. presence in Afghanistan. This week, 13 U.S. service members were among the nearly 200 people killed in an attack outside the Kabul airport.

There were words left unsaid

Keith said that growing up with his brother, "I felt like he was too different from me to really understand what was really good about him."

Keith was studious and didn't easily make friends. Nathan was the outgoing one.

"He didn't withdraw from me," Keith said. "I think, if anything, I withdrew from him."

From left to right: Nathan, Lynn and Keith Chapman, pictured in 1981 in Contra Costa County, Calif. The Chapman family hide caption

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The Chapman family

A Family Remembers The 1st U.S. Soldier Killed In The War In Afghanistan (3)

From left to right: Nathan, Lynn and Keith Chapman, pictured in 1981 in Contra Costa County, Calif.

The Chapman family

Since his death, Keith has struggled to process the relationship he had with his brother.

"All these memories now are 40-plus years old and they're all very thin in my mind," Keith said. "I haven't had the last 20 years of time when an adult might share time with his brother."

"And I think that that's probably, if not slowed down my improved understanding, it's maybe accelerated my loss of understanding."

The past two decades have given Keith time to think about what he wishes he had said to Nathan. Lynn asked her son what he would have told his brother, if given the chance.

"There was an opportunity at his funeral to provide words to be spoken," Keith told her. "But I wasn't able to come up with what was really important.

"The thing that I would say instead was that — there were times when I thought of Nathan as less than me. And that I was wrong. There were times when I thought — and even said to him — that he would never amount to anything. And I was wrong. Everything he wanted to do was important and meaningful."

He was more than a symbol

Nathan Chapman took to the Army right away. By 1989 he participated in his first combat mission, in Panama, and he would go on to deploy in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm. In September 1991, he volunteered for Special Forces training.

A Family Remembers The 1st U.S. Soldier Killed In The War In Afghanistan (4)

Nathan Chapman in Haiti, 1995. The Chapman family hide caption

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The Chapman family

"The fact that he was in Special Forces was a natural fit for him," Lynn said. As a "very, very social guy," she said, he developed a close bond with his small unit in which it was crucial to have each other's backs.

He also served in Haiti in 1995 before spending three years in Okinawa, Japan.

Nathan was highly decorated, with honors including the Bronze Star with "V" device, denoting "Valor" for his heroism in combat, and a posthumous Purple Heart. It later emerged that Chapman had also been working for the CIA and was honored on the CIA's memorial wall.

But to Lynn, her son is far more than a celebrated example of American sacrifice and heroism.

"People take on larger than life quality when things like this happen," she said. "But I think of him as a son and a child — and then a soldier.

"I don't see him as a symbol. In some way, that takes him away from me."

Along with Lynn and Keith, Nathan is survived by his wife, Renae, his two kids Amanda and Brandon, his father Wilbur, and his half-brother Kevin.

Audio produced for Weekend Edition by Eleanor Vassili.

StoryCorps is a national nonprofit that gives people the chance to interview friends and loved ones about their lives. These conversations are archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, allowing participants to leave a legacy for future generations. Learn more, including how to interview someone in your life, at StoryCorps.org.

A Family Remembers The 1st U.S. Soldier Killed In The War In Afghanistan (2024)

FAQs

Who was the first American soldier killed in Afghanistan? ›

Nathan Ross Chapman (April 23, 1970 – January 4, 2002) was a United States Army Sergeant First Class with the 1st Special Forces Group. He was the first American soldier to be killed by enemy action in the War in Afghanistan. Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, U.S.

How many US soldiers died in the Afghanistan war? ›

There were 2,459 United States military deaths in the War in Afghanistan, which lasted from October 2001 to August 2021. 1,922 of these deaths were the result of hostile action. 20,769 American servicemembers were also wounded in action during the war.

Who was the first British soldier killed in Afghanistan? ›

Capt Philippson, 29, of St Albans, Hertfordshire, had served in Iraq and the Falklands. He was a "top quality officer in the best traditions of the regiment and the British army", said his commander, Lieutenant Colonel David Hammond.

How long was the Afghanistan war? ›

THE PRESIDENT: Last night in Kabul, the United States ended 20 years of war in Afghanistan — the longest war in American history. We completed one of the biggest airlifts in history, with more than 120,000 people evacuated to safety. That number is more than double what most experts thought were possible.

Who was the first American CIA killed in Afghanistan? ›

About Mike Spann

Johnny Micheal “Mike” Spann was an officer in the CIA's Special Activities Division who became the first American combat death in the Global War on Terrorism. A native of Alabama, Mike joined the Marine Corps after graduating from Auburn University, eventually rising to the rank of Captain.

Who was the serial killer in Afghanistan? ›

Abul Djabar (died 21 October 1970) was an Afghan serial killer and rapist who killed at least 65 people, and was suspected of murdering over 300 men and boys. He would strangle his victims with a turban while raping them. Djabar was arrested by police while trying to kill another victim.

What US soldier has the most kills? ›

With 2,746 confirmed kills, Sgt. 1st Class Dillard Johnson is the deadliest American soldier on record — and maybe the most humble.

How much does it cost for a soldier to come home? ›

The US military does not charge soldiers any money to take emergency or regular leave. The military provides transportation back to the soldier's home base in the United States and the soldier is only responsible for flights/travel from that base.

What war had the most American deaths? ›

The American Civil War is the conflict with the largest number of American military fatalities in history. In fact, the Civil War's death toll is comparable to all other major wars combined, the deadliest of which were the World Wars, which have a combined death toll of more than 520,000 American fatalities.

How many female soldiers died in Afghanistan? ›

Since the Al-Qaida terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, more than 300,000 US women have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. A total of 166 women were killed during combat operations and over 1,000 were wounded, according to the Washington, DC-based Service Women's Action Network (Swan).

How many female British soldiers died in Afghanistan? ›

A total of seven British women have been killed in action in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Bryant was the first British woman to die in action in Afghanistan since 2001. A female soldier killed in Afghanistan yesterday took the number of fatalities among British servicewomen in the conflict to three.

Who was the Army major killed in Afghanistan? ›

The U.S. military says 55-year-old Army Maj. Gen. Harold Greene of Falls Church, Virginia, died Tuesday when a gunman believed to be an Afghan soldier opened fire at a military academy near Kabul. Greene was born in Albany and graduated from high school in suburban Guilderland.

Which president started the war in Iraq? ›

The invasion occurred as part of the George W. Bush administration's war on terror following the September 11 attacks in 2001 in the United States. In October 2002, the United States Congress passed a joint resolution that granted Bush the power to use military force against the Iraqi government.

Are there still US troops in Afghanistan? ›

Although the U.S. at one time had more than 100,000 troops in Afghanistan and more than 160,000 troops in Iraq, the military pulled out of Afghanistan completely in 2021. And, in Iraq, operations are limited now to just a handful of troops performing advise-and-assist missions only.

Why did the US leave Afghanistan suddenly? ›

On 29 February 2020, the US, represented by diplomatic envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, and the Taliban signed the Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan, commonly known as the US–Taliban deal, that provided for the withdrawal from Afghanistan of "all military forces of the United States, its allies, and Coalition partners ...

Who was the first American soldier killed in ww2? ›

The first American to die in World War II was killed a year and a half before America entered the conflict. Captain Robert Moffat Losey was a highly talented aeronautical meteorologist and Air Corps pilot who served as military attaché in Finland.

Who was the first soldier killed in Iraq? ›

Therrel Shane Childers was 30 years old when he was killed in Iraq on March 21, 2003. He was the first U.S. serviceman to die in the Iraq war. As we approach the fourth anniversary of the war, we talk with Joseph Childers about his son.

Who was the general killed in Afghanistan? ›

Harold Joseph "Harry" Greene (February 11, 1959 – August 5, 2014) was a United States Army general who was killed during the War in Afghanistan. During his time with the United States Army, he held various commands associated with engineering and logistical support for United States and coalition troops.

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