Army Master Sgt. Chris S. Chapin

Died August 23, 2005 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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39, of Proctor, Vt.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion (General Studies), 124th Regiment (Regional Training Institute), Army National Guard ,Colchester, Vt., killed Aug. 23 during combat operations when he was attacked by enemy forces using small arms fire in Ramadi, Iraq.

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Solider killed during combat operations in Iraq

Associated Press

When Chris S. Chapin was behind the wheel, you had to watch out. Lt. Col. Michael Heston remembered Chapin running right into potholes, sometimes after being warned of their presence. “I asked, ‘What are you doing? Did you aim for that one?”’

Heston recalled. “He smiled that Chapin smile and said ‘Good morning, sir.”’

Chapin, 39, of Proctor, Vt., was killed Aug. 23 by small-arms fire in Ramadi. He was based at Colchester.

Chapin graduated from high school in 1984 and played on a state championship soccer team.

The Rev. Edward Elliot, Chapin’s childhood pastor, remembered Chapin during his funeral as a young man whose friends were very important to him.

“Anyone here today who knows Chris has a story to tell,” he said. “Either riding bareback on his neighbor’s cows or out on the soccer field, Chris was in the moment.”

Sgt. Maj. Michael Dattillio said he ran into Chapin a lot in Afghanistan.

“Finally I stopped and I asked, ‘Sgt. Chapin, are you following me around?”’ he said. “He replied, ‘Just watching your back, sir.”’

He is survived by his wife, Paula, and stepson, Michael Smith.