Latest news with #Slabinski
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
New Medal of Honor Museum stirs controversy
The sister of Medal of Honor recipient Master Sgt. John Chapman, an elite combat controller who died on a mountainside during the Battle of Takur Ghar in Afghanistan, is angered by the way the new National Medal of Honor Museum is handling her brother's story. The museum in Arlington, Texas, which pays tribute to more than 3,500 U.S. service members who have earned America's highest military honor, opens to the public on Tuesday. But a disparity in the way the museum treated the story of two recipients has reignited a controversy. Chapman's sister, Lori Longfritz, told "CBS Mornings" she believed her brother would get his own dedicated space at the museum for his heroic acts on March 4, 2002. Reigniting a controversy Chapman earned a posthumous Medal of Honor in 2018, becoming the first member of the Air Force to receive the award since the Vietnam War — and the first recipient where drone video provided evidence of his heroic actions. In one of the most intense battles of the war in Afghanistan, Chapman was working with a team of Navy SEALs who stepped off a helicopter onto the Takur Ghar mountain and into the path of enemy fire. "Without regard for his own safety, Sergeant Chapman immediately engaged, moving in the direction of the closest enemy position despite coming under heavy fire from multiple directions. He fearlessly charged an enemy bunker, up a steep incline in thigh-deep snow and into hostile fire, directly engaging the enemy," his Medal of Honor citation reads. After clearing the first bunker, killing all enemy occupants, Chapman started attacking a second bunker before being shot and seriously wounded, according to the citation. The SEAL team leader at the time, Master Chief Britt Slabinski, told CBS News national security correspondent David Martin in 2018 that he ordered his team to pull back as he "crawled over the top" of Chapman to search for "some sign of life." "I didn't get any, any sign from him," said Britt. Believing he was dead and in a dangerous spot in the middle of the ongoing firefight, Slabinski left Chapman and relocated his team to safer ground. A military analysis of drone video later showed Chapman had still been alive at that time. He had regained consciousness and carried on fighting alone, providing crucial cover fire as reinforcements tried to land. He was credited with saving more than 20 American service members, including Slabinski. "Despite severe, mortal wounds, [Chapman] continued to fight relentlessly, sustaining a violent engagement with multiple enemy personnel before making the ultimate sacrifice," the citation says. Yet more than a decade after the battle, as the Pentagon considered him for the Medal of Honor for those actions, some Navy SEALs resisted. Two former defense officials involved in the process claim the SEALs argued against Chapman posthumously receiving the award, with one telling CBS News they "couldn't accept any hint that SEALs had left behind a service member on the battlefield." It's a position Slabinski himself maintained even as he received his own Medal of Honor months before Chapman. "I can tell you, we left no one behind. No one. What I saw, what I experienced, I know that clearly that we didn't leave anyone behind up there," he said in a 2018 interview with Fox News. In a statement, a Naval Special Warfare spokesperson told CBS News, "We honor the valor and heroism of all Medal of Honor recipients with the dignity and respect they deserve." The statement didn't address accusations about past opposition to Chapman's Medal of Honor, saying only that the SEALs hold him "in high regard as a hero who made the ultimate sacrifice for his teammates. He will forever remain in our memory." "There was never going to be a John Chapman exhibit" "I do believe that there is such a thing as fog of war," Longfritz acknowledged as she spoke about her brother being left behind on the battlefield in an interview from the town of Windsor Locks, Connecticut, where they grew up. Regarding Slabinski and the SEALs, she said, "I can't judge them for what they did on the mountain, what happened. I can judge them for how they've acted since then." Chapman's photo hangs on a wall near a monitor playing the drone footage at the new museum — part of a larger exhibit on the timeline of the Medal of Honor, while Slabinski is among several service members who have their own featured exhibits. Slabinski's section is filled with multiple photos and artifacts — like his field knife, ID tag, combat trousers and dress white uniform. Longfritz said representatives at the National Medal of Honor Museum led her to believe that Chapman would also be getting his own featured exhibit. However, in a lengthy statement to CBS News, the museum stated that "it is not possible to tell 3,526 stories in a museum's exhibits at one time." "There was never going to be a John Chapman exhibit," according to a former museum employee, who told CBS News the plan was to "kick this can down the road," knowing the underlying tensions between the two sides. The museum says Chapman's story is still among the most high-profile mentioned in the museum. "When evaluating individual coverage of recipients included in the exhibits by word count, Master Sergeant Chapman is among the top 25 percent," the museum added in their statement. But "word count" is not the right measure for Longfritz. "It's disgusting," said Longfritz. "I had found a way to just let it go, and then this. I didn't want this, but I'm not going anywhere now." A growing petition Many in the Air Force community see this as a problem as well. More than 25,000 people have signed an online petition demanding Chapman be given a full exhibit in the museum. It's also drawn the ire of Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, an Air Force veteran. "It's a blatant disrespect for someone who lost their life, serving this country and that wrong needs to be corrected immediately," said Luna, who supports Chapman getting his own exhibit. When asked what she believes is behind the decision, she answered that "politics played a hand in this entire Medal of Honor debacle," and pointed out that Slabinski serves on the museum's board of directors. CBS News attempted to reach Slabinski, whose wife also works at the museum, several times but never heard back. If the museum doesn't fix the disparity, Luna said she would "call to question" anyone supporting the museum "to reconsider giving funds to an organization that would play politics with people that have sacrificed their lives for this country." According to the museum, "No preference was given to board member Medal of Honor recipients and, to their great credit, it was the board member recipients who specifically asked to be treated no differently in exhibit consideration than their peers." But if the roles were reversed, Longfritz believes her brother "would be the first one to say, 'Do not honor me. This guy who died saving my life deserves it more than I do.'" "I feel like if someone is a true hero…they don't want it for themselves," she added. Sen. Rand Paul says he thinks Supreme Court will uphold the Alien Enemies Act for deportations George Clooney: The 2025 60 Minutes Interview Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal on their Broadway "Othello"
CBS News
25-03-2025
- General
- CBS News
Sister of Master Sgt. John Chapman angry over National Medal of Honor Museum's representation: "It's disgusting"
The sister of Medal of Honor recipient Master Sgt. John Chapman, an elite combat controller who died on a mountainside during the Battle of Takur Ghar in Afghanistan, is angered by the way the new National Medal of Honor Museum is handling her brother's story. The museum in Arlington, Texas, which pays tribute to more than 3,500 U.S. service members who have earned America's highest military honor, opens to the public on Tuesday. But a disparity in the way the museum treated the story of two recipients has reignited a controversy. Chapman's sister, Lori Longfritz, told "CBS Mornings" she believed her brother would get his own dedicated space at the museum for his heroic acts on March 4, 2002. Chapman earned a posthumous Medal of Honor in 2018, becoming the first member of the Air Force to receive the award since the Vietnam War — and the first recipient where drone video provided evidence of his heroic actions. In one of the most intense battles of the war in Afghanistan, Chapman was working with a team of Navy SEALs who stepped off a helicopter onto the Takur Ghar mountain and into the path of enemy fire. "Without regard for his own safety, Sergeant Chapman immediately engaged, moving in the direction of the closest enemy position despite coming under heavy fire from multiple directions. He fearlessly charged an enemy bunker, up a steep incline in thigh-deep snow and into hostile fire, directly engaging the enemy," his Medal of Honor citation reads . After clearing the first bunker, killing all enemy occupants, Chapman started attacking a second bunker before being shot and seriously wounded, according to the citation. The SEAL team leader at the time, Master Chief Britt Slabinski, told CBS News national security correspondent David Martin in 2018 that he ordered his team to pull back as he "crawled over the top" of Chapman to search for "some sign of life." "I didn't get any, any sign from him," said Britt. Believing he was dead and in a dangerous spot in the middle of the ongoing firefight, Slabinski left Chapman and relocated his team to safer ground. A military analysis of drone video later showed Chapman had still been alive at that time. He had regained consciousness and carried on fighting alone, providing crucial cover fire as reinforcements tried to land. He was credited with saving more than 20 American service members, including Slabinski. "Despite severe, mortal wounds, [Chapman] continued to fight relentlessly, sustaining a violent engagement with multiple enemy personnel before making the ultimate sacrifice," the citation says. Yet more than a decade after the battle, as the Pentagon considered him for the Medal of Honor for those actions, some Navy SEALs resisted. Two former defense officials involved in the process claim the SEALs argued against Chapman posthumously receiving the award, with one telling CBS News they "couldn't accept any hint that SEALs had left behind a service member on the battlefield." It's a position Slabinski himself maintained even as he received his own Medal of Honor months before Chapman. "I can tell you, we left no one behind. No one. What I saw, what I experienced, I know that clearly that we didn't leave anyone behind up there," he said in a 2018 interview with Fox News. In a statement, a Naval Special Warfare spokesperson told CBS News, "We honor the valor and heroism of all Medal of Honor recipients with the dignity and respect they deserve." The statement didn't address accusations about past opposition to Chapman's Medal of Honor, saying only that the SEALs hold him "in high regard as a hero who made the ultimate sacrifice for his teammates. He will forever remain in our memory." "I do believe that there is such a thing as fog of war," Longfritz acknowledged as she spoke about her brother being left behind on the battlefield in an interview from the town of Windsor Locks, Connecticut, where they grew up. Regarding Slabinski and the SEALs, she said, "I can't judge them for what they did on the mountain, what happened. I can judge them for how they've acted since then." Chapman's photo hangs on a wall near a monitor playing the drone footage at the new museum — part of a larger exhibit on the timeline of the Medal of Honor, while Slabinski is among several service members who have their own featured exhibits. Slabinski's section is filled with multiple photos and artifacts — like his field knife, ID tag, combat trousers and dress white uniform. Longfritz said representatives at the National Medal of Honor Museum led her to believe that Chapman would also be getting his own featured exhibit. However, in a lengthy statement to CBS News, the museum stated that "it is not possible to tell 3,526 stories in a museum's exhibits at one time." "There was never going to be a John Chapman exhibit," according to a former museum employee, who told CBS News the plan was to "kick this can down the road," knowing the underlying tensions between the two sides. The museum says Chapman's story is still among the most high-profile mentioned in the museum. "When evaluating individual coverage of recipients included in the exhibits by word count, Master Sergeant Chapman is among the top 25 percent," the museum added in their statement. But "word count" is not the right measure for Longfritz. "It's disgusting," said Longfritz. "I had found a way to just let it go, and then this. I didn't want this, but I'm not going anywhere now." Many in the Air Force community see this as a problem as well. More than 25,000 people have signed an online petition demanding Chapman be given a full exhibit in the museum. It's also drawn the ire of Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, an Air Force veteran. "It's a blatant disrespect for someone who lost their life, serving this country and that wrong needs to be corrected immediately," said Luna, who supports Chapman getting his own exhibit. When asked what she believes is behind the decision, she answered that "politics played a hand in this entire Medal of Honor debacle," and pointed out that Slabinski serves on the museum's board of directors. CBS News attempted to reach Slabinski, whose wife also works at the museum, several times but never heard back. If the museum doesn't fix the disparity, Luna said she would "call to question" anyone supporting the museum "to reconsider giving funds to an organization that would play politics with people that have sacrificed their lives for this country." According to the museum, "No preference was given to board member Medal of Honor recipients and, to their great credit, it was the board member recipients who specifically asked to be treated no differently in exhibit consideration than their peers." But if the roles were reversed, Longfritz believes her brother "would be the first one to say, 'Do not honor me. This guy who died saving my life deserves it more than I do.'" "I feel like if someone is a true hero…they don't want it for themselves," she added.
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
The new National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington represents our nation's highest ideals
Speak to almost anyone associated with the soon-to-be-opened National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington and you'll notice something interesting: There's little talk of bravery, valor or heroism. What you'll hear instead are words like duty, sacrifice and commitment. The museum, which is throwing a big celebration Saturday ahead of opening to the public Tuesday, represents those ideals above all others — they are what the curators want visitors to take with them when they leave, along with the stories of some of the 3,528 Medal of Honor recipients. Located at 1861 AT&T Way in Arlington, tucked between Choctaw Stadium and the Arlington Museum of Art, the National Medal of Honor Museum offers a poignant reminder of the promises our military men and women make to our nation and to each other. The very structure of the museum is symbolic of this. The massive steel block that houses the exhibits sits atop five pillars, one each for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. The pillars represent the weight that service members bear — what Marine Corps Medal of Honor recipient Kyle Carpenter calls 'the beautiful burden.' A pillar of light shining from the atop the museum signifies the U.S. Space Force, our newest branch. Outside is a rotunda that will be open to visitors 24 hours a day. Inside on the ground floor is a ring of honor with the names of all the recipients going back to the first soldiers to receive the Medal of Honor, in 1863 during the Civil War. Upstairs are approximately 200 exhibits, which will rotate in the years to come, highlighting recipients' stories. There you'll find things like Sgt. Alvin York's pistol and Bible from World War I. There is a jacket, guitar and other personal effects that belonged to Texan Audie Murphy, one of the most decorated soldiers in World War II. A Bell UH-1 Iroquois 'Huey' medevac helicopter, modeled after the one flown by Army recipient Patrick Brady in Vietnam, dominates one corner of the museum. Not far from it are mementos from men who fought more recently in places like Afghanistan and Iraq during the Global War on Terror. In one case is Army recipient Clinton Romesha's high school FFA jacket, a reminder of the humanity behind the medal. Another case houses uniforms belonging to retired Navy SEAL Britt Slabinski, including the bullet-torn uniform trousers he wore the day his actions in Afghanistan earned him the Medal of Honor. In March 2002, Slabinski led a team up Takur Ghar, a 10,000-foot mountain ridge in eastern Afghanistan, to conduct reconnaissance. In the early morning darkness, a rocket-propelled grenade struck their helicopter. The impact ejected Navy Petty Officer Neil Roberts into the snow below and forced the copter down. Outmatched by the enemy's numbers and under heavy fire, Slabinski ordered another helicopter and took his team back up Takur Ghar to help Roberts. While seven Americans died that day, including Roberts, Slabinski showed incredible fortitude in leading the attack and stabilizing casualties while awaiting evacuation. Fear is an emotion, and it's only overcome by choice. In Slabinski's case, he made the choices he did after reciting to himself the Scout Oath, which begins 'on my honor, I will do my best to do my duty.' Slabinski, who attained Eagle Scout at age 14, told the Star-Telegram in an interview that those words guided his decision to go back for Roberts despite the dangers to him and his men. 'They were put in a very complicated situation,' Slabinski said of the recipients honored in the museum, himself included. 'First they were volunteers, then they were put in a situation, a nearly impossible spot to make decisions in, and they had to make decisions, and they made those decisions in that moment based on a couple of things: first, they had made a promise to the people to their left and right and to those behind them that I'm going to do my best in this situation to make it right no matter what. 'You had this human at a friction point who decided I'm going to do something about this,' he said. One of the most unique exhibits in the museum gives you the chance to 'talk' with a Medal of Honor recipient in a virtual reality setting. Thanks to hundreds of hours of interview footage, visitors can sit down and ask questions of two recipients and learn the details of their lives and combat actions. Slabinski hopes experiences like that will change the ways visitors interact with others and with the world around them. He also hopes that, instead of glorifying combat, the museum will provide a stark reminder that war is, in fact, hell. 'I talk a lot in lectures about this: Could we possibly as a human race evolve beyond this need to have this kinetic reaction with each other?' Slabinski said. 'Could we, in some dream world, make a Medal of Honor recipient an endangered species? Could we somehow not have the need, like a caveman, to take your club to the next cave and bash someone over the head to get fire? Is there another way that we could communicate with each other? Very lofty idea, right?' Slabinski, who is part of the museum's board of directors, said Arlington was chosen as the home for the National Medal of Honor Museum because it's perfectly situated in the middle of the country, near a major airport, and it's already an established destination. It's also in Texas, and as Slabinski put it, 'you're not going to get any more patriotic than Texas.' Prior to the public opening on March 25, the museum is hosting the Mission to Inspire Spectacular on Saturday, March 22. This free event outside Choctaw Stadium will feature food, music, fireworks, a drone show and a video tribute to Medal of Honor recipients. That will be preceded by an invitation-only ribbon-cutting ceremony expected to be attended by past and present military and government leaders. Beginning March 25, the National Medal of Honor Museum will be open daily from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Tickets start at $30 for ages 13 to 64; adding a virtual reality experience starts at $40, and VIP guided tours are from $60. Boeing is sponsoring the tickets of all U.S. veterans with valid ID who visit the museum March 25 to 28. The museum is also spearheading plans for a Medal of Honor monument that will be installed on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., likely near the Lincoln Memorial. The museum foundation is responsible for raising money for the project, with no use of federal funding.
CBS News
21-03-2025
- CBS News
Medal of Honor recipients arrive in DFW on special flight ahead of National Medal of Honor Museum grand opening
Excitement is building for the grand opening of the National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington . To prepare for the event, American Airlines partnered with the museum to give active duty military members a tour of its special plane, Flagship Valor. It's hard not to notice American Airlines flight 9701 is slightly different from the routine flight. The medals, the murals, and the cargo. "They're incredible Americans. I am privileged to be in their company. Every time I'm with them, I'm in awe of them," said Britt Slabinski, one of the six Medal of Honor recipients aboard the Flagship Valor ahead of the grand opening of the National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington. "Just the first time I saw it, the first time I was on the exhibition deck, really I got a little emotional just remembering the 3,528 recipients of the medal," said Slabinski. Those aboard the flight relished the opportunity to talk with these six American heroes. "Having a fun conversation with those six gentlemen and their spouses was pretty surreal," said Chris Cassidy, the President and CEO of the National Medal of Honor Museum. "When you break it on down, we're human just like everybody else that was faced with an incredibly challenging situation and did the best we could to make it right," said Slabinski. But Flagship Valor isn't just a private plane for Medal of Honor recipients, it's part of America's fleet, and you could ride in it too. "When it's not in use for special missions, it's flying all around and visits airports throughout the United States, and if you get on board the aircraft, there are QR codes you can learn about the medal of honor and what it really means," said David Seymour, the COO of American Airlines. That education is why men like Slabinski want the museum built. "I hope they walk out with just a little more sense of, I guess, responsibility of being a citizen of this country and what has been given for them," he said. The Medal of Honor Museum opens to the public on Tuesday, March 25.
