Christian A. Chapman ’43

Chris died Nov. 27, 2016, after a long and courageous battle with dementia.

He left Princeton at the end of his sophomore year to enlist in the Free French forces and served as a Spitfire pilot under the Royal Air Force. This service involved action on D-Day, being shot down, and being held as a prisoner of war.

After the war, Chris returned to Princeton and earned his degree in economics. Chris’ devotion to Princeton continued through the years — he served as chairman of the Advisory Council of the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures and was a regular attendee at Reunions.

He enrolled in the Foreign Service and retired after a 30-year career. This included tours in Morocco, Beirut, and Tehran, where he interacted with the Shah. After these postings he returned to Washington, where he married Anita Ioas and raised three children.

Chris spent more than two decades working on the Vietnam War and its many complexities. In 1974 he managed to keep the American Embassy in Laos open despite the takeover of the government by the communist Pathet Lao.

Chris is survived by two daughters, Catherine and Jennifer ’87, and son Hillary.