A Marine from Lawrence wounded in Fallujah brought himself and his family some international attention Monday when he appeared in a televised news conference while recovering at a military hospital in Germany.
"It's nothing too serious," Lance Cpl. Ryan Chapman said of the wound that left a 4-inch stitched scar along the left side of his forehead. "It cracked my skull, but I think it looks worse than it is."
Ryan Chapman
Chapman, 22, was one of four wounded Marines and soldiers brought before the international news media at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. His appearance was seen on cable news networks throughout the day, spurring calls and e-mails to his family in Lawrence.
"It's been kind of hectic," said Chapman's mother, Becky Chapman. Along with her daughter, Kellee Chapman-Smith, Becky Chapman spent a lot of time Monday fielding media calls and being interviewed.
The Chapmans learned Ryan had been wounded a week ago, when he called them after being taken out of Fallujah and sent back to Baghdad.
"He called to let us know he was OK but he'd been injured," Chapman-Smith said.
Ryan Chapman, a 2001 Lawrence High School graduate, didn't describe his wound until he called again several hours later, after he had been flown to Germany and was being driven to the hospital.
Even then, Ryan Chapman at first said only that he had been cut on the head. Then he asked Becky and Kellee to get off the phone so he could talk privately with his father, Dean Chapman. Ryan Chapman told his father the cut was actually a gunshot wound. He didn't want to upset his mother and sister until he knew more about the wound, Chapman-Smith said.
Lawrence soldier wounded in Iraq
Marine shoots wounded Iraqi"He's on a stretcher, he just got shot in the head and he's worried about our feelings," Chapman-Smith said. "That kind of attests to what kind of man he is."
Ryan Chapman was operating a missile launcher from the top of a Humvee when he was shot by a sniper. His Marine buddies later told him they had taken care of the sniper, Chapman-Smith said.
Monday, the Chapmans started getting calls and e-mails from friends telling them Ryan was on CNN. They saw the news conference and made a tape of it. They also talked by phone throughout the day with Ryan.
"He's doing fine," Chapman-Smith said. "He still has some pretty bad headaches."
Ryan Chapman left the hospital after the news conference and is now with a unit of wounded Marines who are able to take care of themselves, his sister said. He expects to return to Lawrence sometime during the next few days, Chapman-Smith said.
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