At the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Punchbowl Crater, carved into the light brown trani stone tablets of the Courts of the Missing, among the 8,195 names of Korean War soldiers and sailors “whose earthly resting place is known only to God,” is the name of a candidate for both the United States’ highest military honor and the highest honor the church can give:
EMIL JOSEPH KAPAUN
CAPT-8 REGT 1 CAV DIV-KANSAS
Father Kapaun was a U.S. Army Catholic chaplain during the Korean War who saved the lives of dozens of soldiers in the field and in a North Korean prisoner of war camp before his death.
This week he was scheduled to receive posthumously the Medal of Honor from President Barack Obama.
His heroic deeds have also put him in line for possible canonization.
A priest of the Diocese of Wichita, Kan., whose sainthood cause was formally opened in 2008, was to be honored during ceremonies at the White House April 11 and at the Pentagon April 12.
Todd Tiahrt, a former Kansas congressman who has advocated for the honor for years, said the award is well deserved.
“What he did in the face of adversity at the risk of his own life was remarkable. I’m very pleased by the award. I think it’s justified fully,” Tiahrt told Catholic News Service March 1.
“I’m very excited that Father Kapaun is getting this recognition,” he said.
The Wichita Eagle reported that President Barack Obama called Father Kapaun’s sister-in-law, Helen Kapaun, of suburban Bel Aire, in December to tell her the news. She and her family were expected to be on hand to receive the medal.
Father Kapaun is the seventh Army chaplain to receive the Medal of Honor since its conception in 1861.
A native of Pilsen, Kansas, Father Kapaun was ordained in 1940, and initially assigned to his home parish. Uneasy about shepherding the souls of his relatives and others he had known from childhood, he was allowed to volunteer for the Army chaplaincy.
He first served with U.S. troops in India and Burma before returning to parish work in Kansas in 1946. When the Korean conflict heated up, it was off to the front lines.
In Korea, Father Kapaun gave last rites and Holy Communion to thousands of the dying. He often could be seen taking fruit and water to dehydrated soldiers. In September of 1950, Father Kapaun was awarded the Bronze Star for bravery. In less than two months he would be a prisoner of war.
About 300 of the 8th Calvary Regiment had crossed the border into the North in pursuit of the enemy. The record shows the 35-year-old chaplain had the chance to fall back to safety during a battle between U.S. and Chinese forces, but instead chose to stay and was captured along with dozens of men.
Former prisoners of war said that during his captivity Father Kapaun defied the intimidating camp guards by praying with captive soldiers, sharing food rations with injured comrades and urging them to resist relentless interrogation. He would often risk death to find food for his starving men.
After contracting an infection caused by severely sprained ankle, Father Kapaun died of starvation and pneumonia May 23, 1951, in a prison in Pyoktong, North Korea.
A canonization cause for Father Kapaun formally opened in 2008 with a Mass at St. John Nepomucene Church in Pilsen. Church officials in Kansas and elsewhere have collected documentation to support the sainthood cause and continue to advocate for the priest’s canonization.
Duane A. Vachon of Hawaii contributed to this story.
