CAFB Memorial Wall adds 2

COLUMBUS AFB, Miss. -- Members of the 14th Flying Training Wing gathered in front of the Richard “Gene” Smith Plaza for a May 28 Memorial Day ceremony that paid tribute to Master Sgt. John Chapman, a Medal of Honor recipient, and 1st Lt. David Albandoz, a former student pilot at CAFB. “Today is not a day of celebration, but a day to remember, reflect and be grateful for the men and women who selflessly sacrificed for their nation,” said Col. Samantha Weeks, 14th Flying Training Wing commander. Chapman was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for actions on Takur Ghar Mountain in Afghanistan on March 4, 2002, when his team was ambushed by the enemy and came under heavy fire. Despite severe wounds, he fought relentlessly, and with his last actions, Chapman saved the lives of his team and dozens of rescuers. Albandoz dedicated over 16 years of his life to the Air Force. Most recently, Albandoz attended Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training at CAFB and graduating in 2017 as a member of SUPT Class 17-14. After completing C-130H training at Little Rock AFB, Ark., he returned to the 198th Airlift Squadron at Muñiz Air National Guard Base in Puerto Rico as a qualified C-130H co-pilot. He died May 2, 2018, in a non-combat related incident involving a WC-130 Hercules aircraft departing from Savannah, Ga. Their names were added to the memorial wall in the plaza. Since Columbus AFB became a pilot training base in 1971, 87 pilot training graduates and instructor pilots have died in the line of duty, and their names have been added to the memorial. (Source: 14th Flying Training Wing 05/31/19)