Father Kapaun was born April 20, 1916 (!!!!) near Pilsen, Kansas. He graduated high school in 1930, completed his seminary education (Conception Seminary College and Kenrick Theological Seminary) in 1940 and was ordained as a priest that year.
I’m not sure what happened between 1940 and 1943, but in January of 1943, he was appointed auxiliary chaplain at the Herington Army Airfield. He was named priest there in December of 1943.
In August of 1944, he went into the US Army Chaplain School, and graduated in October. From April of 1945 to May of 1946 he served in the Burma Theater of operations.
He ministered to U.S. soldiers and local missions, sometimes traversing nearly 2,000 miles (3,200 km) a month by jeep or airplane.
He mustered out in July of 1946 and used the GI Bill to earn a MA degree in education. In September of 1948, he rejoined the Army as a chaplain at Fort Bliss.
In January 1950, Kapaun became a chaplain in the 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, often performing battle drills near Mount Fuji, Japan. On July 15, 1950, the 1st Cavalry Division and Kapaun embarked and left Tokyo Bay sailing for Korea, less than a month after North Korea had invaded South Korea.
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The 1st Cavalry Division made the first amphibious landing in the Korean War on July 18, 1950. The Division was soon moved up to help slow the North Korean Korean People’s Army (KPA)’s advance until more reinforcements could arrive. The Division engaged in several skirmishes with the KPA but had to retreat each time. Kapaun and his assistant learned of a wounded soldier stranded by enemy machine gun and small arms fire during one of these retreats. Knowing that no litter bearers were available, the two braved enemy fire and saved the man’s life, for which Kapaun was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with a “V” device for valor.
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Father Kapaun quickly became known for his willingness to risk his own life in order to save his men. He sometimes used the hood of his jeep as an altar on which to celebrate Mass and hear confession. [King]
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The United Nations forces progressed northward but were met by a surprise intervention by the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army (PVA). The first engagement with this new enemy took place at the Battle of Unsan near Unsan, North Korea, on November 1–2, 1950. Nearly 20,000 PVA soldiers attacked Kapaun’s 8th Cavalry Regiment. Despite pleas for him to escape, he stayed behind with the 800 men of the 3rd Battalion as the rest of the regiment retreated. During the battle, he braved enemy fire and rescued nearly 40 men…
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When Father Kapaun’s commanders ordered evacuation, he chose to stay.
By all accounts, Father Kapaun refused to save his own skin, dodged bullets, and gave the last rites to as many dying soldiers as he could reach. He carried one man, whose leg had been shattered by shrapnel, in his arms to safety.
During the forced eighty-mile march to a prison camp in the freezing cold, Father Kapuan shored up flagging spirits and encouraged his men to help those too wounded to walk. [King]
Father Kapuan spent seven months as a POW.
Life in the prison camp was challenging, with sometimes up to 2 dozen men dying a day from malnutrition, disease, lice, and extreme cold. Kapaun refused to give in to despair and spent himself entirely for his men. He dug latrines, mediated disputes, gave away his food and raised morale among the prisoners. He was noted among his fellow POWs as one who would steal food for the men to eat. He also stood up to communist indoctrination, smuggled dysentery drugs to the doctor, Sidney Esensten, and led the men in prayer.
Nearly half the prisoners died that first winter, from cold, starvation, lice infestations. Given such conditions, Father Kapaun decided to pray to Saint Dismas, the good thief, and then would sneak extra rations for his men. He offered freezing prisoners his own clothes, bathed their wounds, exhorted them to keep going.
The guards ridiculed his faith. At night he slipped into huts to lead prisoners in prayer and administer the sacraments. “Just for a moment,” one said, “he could turn a mud hut into a cathedral.” [King]
Unfortunately, his own health failed. He came down with dysentery and pneumonia. He had a blood clot in one leg, and was malnourished. He led a forbidden Easter service on March 25, 1951 (“holding up a small crucifix he had fashioned from sticks”) but got progressively sicker.
He was so weak the prison guards took him to a place in the Pyoktong camp they called the “hospital,” where he died of malnutrition and pneumonia on May 23, 1951.
It is said that the “hospital” was really a “death house” and that the guards did not give him food or water.
He was posthumously awarded the Legion of Merit by the U.S. Army for exceptionally meritorious conduct as a prisoner of war, as well as the Purple Heart.
He had also been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (for the rescue of those 40 men during the Battle of Unsan) but on April 11, 2013, that was upgraded to the Medal of Honor. His citation:
Chaplain Emil J. Kapaun, while assigned to Headquarters Company, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism, patriotism, and selfless service between Nov. 1-2, 1950. During the Battle of Unsan, Kapaun was serving with the 3rd Battalion of the 8th Cavalry Regiment. As Chinese Communist forces encircled the battalion, Kapaun moved fearlessly from foxhole to foxhole under direct enemy fire in order to provide comfort and reassurance to the outnumbered Soldiers. He repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire to recover wounded men, dragging them to safety. When he couldn’t drag them, he dug shallow trenches to shield them from enemy fire. As Chinese forces closed in, Kapaun rejected several chances to escape, instead volunteering to stay behind and care for the wounded. He was taken as a prisoner of war by Chinese forces on Nov. 2, 1950.
After he was captured, Kapaun and other prisoners were marched for several days northward toward prisoner-of-war camps. During the march Kapaun led by example in caring for injured Soldiers, refusing to take a break from carrying the stretchers of the wounded while encouraging others to do their part.
Once inside the dismal prison camps, Kapaun risked his life by sneaking around the camp after dark, foraging for food, caring for the sick, and encouraging his fellow Soldiers to sustain their faith and their humanity. On at least one occasion, he was brutally punished for his disobedience, being forced to sit outside in subzero weather without any garments. When the Chinese instituted a mandatory re-education program, Kapaun patiently and politely rejected every theory put forth by the instructors. Later, Kapaun openly flouted his captors by conducting a sunrise service on Easter morning, 1951.
When Kapaun began to suffer from the physical toll of his captivity, the Chinese transferred him to a filthy, unheated hospital where he died alone. As he was being carried to the hospital, he asked God’s forgiveness for his captors, and made his fellow prisoners promise to keep their faith. Chaplain Kapaun died in captivity on May 23, 1951.
Chaplain Emil J. Kapaun repeatedly risked his own life to save the lives of hundreds of fellow Americans. His extraordinary courage, faith and leadership inspired thousands of prisoners to survive hellish conditions, resist enemy indoctrination, and retain their faith in God and country. His actions reflect the utmost credit upon him, the 1st Cavalry Division, and the United States Army.
Father Kapaun’s remains were among a group of unidentified bodies that were returned to the US after the Korean Armistice Agreement. They were originally buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii, but as part of the ongoing efforts to identify unknown soldiers from the Korean War, they were disinterred. His remains were identified in March of this year, and on September 25, they were returned to his family. They are currently interred at Wichita’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.
Pope John Paul II named Father Kapaun a Servant of God in 1993. From what I can tell, the case for Father Kapaun’s sainthood is currently under consideration by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. There are several miracles attributed to him that are currently under investigation, and I can see a very strong case that he was a martyr.
He was one of twelve chaplains to die in Korea. Four U.S. Army chaplains were taken prisoner in 1950, all of whom died while in captivity.
Sources:
King, Heather. “‘Credible Witnesses: Servant of God Emil Kapaun.’” Magnificat, Nov. 2021.
“Medal of Honor Recipient Chaplain (Capt.) Emil J. Kapaun | the United States Army.” Www.army.mil, www.army.mil/medalofhonor/kapaun/. Accessed 7 Nov. 2021.
Wikipedia Contributors. “Emil Kapaun.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 2 May 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Kapaun. Accessed 20 June 2019.
(Previously. Previously. Previously.)