Chaplain Emil J. Kapaun

On June 3, 2001, in Pilsen, Kan., a bronze sculpture of a military chaplain comforting a wounded soldier was unveiled in honor of Chaplain Emil J. Kapaun. This Wichita, Kan., diocesan priest died as a prisoner of war in Pyotkong, North Korea, on May 23, 1951.
 

Father Kapaun was one of the most highly decorated military chaplains in the Korean conflict. An inspiration to all around him, Fr. Kapaun ministered to the sick, buried the dead and cared for those who had succumbed to despair; he cared for the soldiers’ physical ailments as well as their desperate need for spiritual guidance. Fr. Kapaun was captured after refusing to abandon the 8th Cavalry when it was overwhelmed on Nov. 2, 1950.
 

"Fr. Kapaun stole food from the potato fields and when burying the deceased he’d say a prayer for the repose of their souls, followed by a prayer of thanksgiving for favors granted by God," said fellow prisoner Lt. Mike Dowe. "Somehow his presence could turn a louse-ridden stinking mud hole into a cathedral." His compassionate ministry so inspired a Jewish POW that he carved a cross from scraps during his captivity as a memorial to Chaplain Kapaun.
 

Fort Riley, Kan., commanding Maj. Gen. Robert St. Onge, Archbishop for the Military Services Edwin O’Brien, and Chaplain Lt. Col. Lawrence Berry (1st Cavalry Fort Hood, Texas) spoke at the presentation. Most Reverend Eugene J. Gerber was the main celebrant at the mass. Chaplain Kapaun’s brother, Eugene Kapaun, and 20 veterans of the Korean War were in attendance.

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