Letter of September 30, 2005

Korean War Priest: On the Way to Sainthood
Most Reverend Carl F. Mengeling, Bishop of Lansing
The sainthood cause of another American Catholic is advancing. He is Father Emil Kapaun, U.S. Army Chaplain. He served during the Korean War. After seven months in a Chinese P.O.W. Camp along the Yalu River (China/Korea border) he died heroically on May 23, 1951. The 50th anniversary in 2001 has intensified the movement toward his canonization.

As a seminarian in the 50's, I knew about Father Kapaun. Two roommates were from Kansas, studying for the Diocese of Wichita. Father Kapaun was a priest of Wichita. They shared news clips, pamphlets and a book, which I still possess. Father Kapaun has been an inspiration in the seminary and during my priesthood.

Auxiliary Bishop Francis Roque of the Military Archdiocese and Father John Hatze of the Wichita Diocese are Promatus.

Emil Joseph Kapaun was born on Holy Thursday, April 20, 1916 on the family farm near Pilsen, Kansas. He came into a Catholic family and community recently transplanted from Bohemia.

It was typical of thousands of places in America settled by immigrants from different countries. These immigrants from the same part of a country, with the same language, religion and traditions settled together in towns, villages and farm districts. Towering in the midst was their pride and joy, the parish church. Its’ tall spire was visible for miles. The heritage of these immigrants; churches, towns, farms are still with us and are especially treasured by their descendants.

Pilsen and its farm district was settled by immigrants from Bohemia (now ‘Czech Republic’) in 1890. That was 25 years before Emil Kapaun’s birth. His father, Enos had already arrived in 1887. His mother, Elizabeth (Hajek) was also of Bohemia descent.

The community was Catholic and steeped in the traditions of Bohemia. They named it Pilsen after Pilsen in Bohemia, now a major Czech city. The imposing Catholic church built in 1915 was placed under the patronage of St. John of Nepomuc. This patron saint of Bohemia suffered martyrdom on May 16, 1383.

Their pastor, Father John Skelnar was also from Bohemia. He officiated at the marriage of Enos and Elizabeth Kapaun in 1915. He was pastor for 42 years (1901-1943). Young Emil said: "I want to be just like Father Skelnar".

One of his teachers, Sister Vitalia said of him: "Emil eagerly read about the foreign missions in the Columbian Mission magazine. When I realized he was in earnest about becoming a priest, I said that if his parents had not the means, the Columbian Fathers might accept him. Father Skelnar said he should be a parish priest and he would pay Emil’s way. Emil was happy to become a priest, but always kept his interest in the foreign missions".

After college with the Benedictine’s at Conception, Missouri, he entered Kenrick Seminary at St. Louis in 1936. He was ordained in Wichita on June 9, 1940. He was assigned to his home parish, where he served four years.

In 1943-44 he also served as auxiliary chaplain at a nearby Airbase. At his request, his bishop released him for an Army Chaplaincy on July 12, 1944. He served in Burma and India. In June, 1946 he left active service and returned to his diocese.

As war over Korea seemed imminent, he asked his bishop to let him re-enlist. "I am willing to return to active duty because we must have priests trained to go into duty when the need comes". He re-enlisted and was assigned to Fort Bliss, Texas on November 15, 1948.

In July, 1950 the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Calvary Division and their Chaplain Kapaun were sent to Korea. In the Fall of 1950 the 8th Battalion was in the severe battles near the Chinese border. On November 1, Chinese forces overran the battalion at Unsays. His unit was ordered to retreat. He stayed with the many wounded, risking his life to aid them.

On November 2nd, 1200 men and Father Kapaun were captured and sent to Camp 5 in Pyoktang.

During seven months until his death on May 23, 1951 he gave his life for these fellow P.O.W.’s.

These few of many reports from P.O.W.’s who were with him and testify to his holiness.

Colonel Filmore McAbee, POW with Father Kapaun: "Starvation, exposure and dysentery were prevalent among the POWs. Father Kapaun nursed the sick and dying, and lifted the spirits of all. "To survive Camp No. 5, you had to want to live," said McAbbe. "Those who didn’t or weren’t strong enough mentally just gave up and died. Father Kapaun worked to prevent that. The POWs needed encouragement and Father Kapaun provided it."

POW Captain William McClain: "That winter of 1950-51 was the worst period for us, and the time when many hundreds of our people died for lack of basic food and medicines. It was not uncommon at that time to wake up in the morning and learn several people died during the night. A number of them passed on without a fight. Along with Colonel McAbee, Father Kapaun was one of the few who displayed leadership and discipline that were essential for survival."

1st Lieutenant Ray Dawe Jr., January 16, 1954: "There was something in his voice and bearing that was different - a dignity, a composure, a serenity that radiated from him like a light. Wherever he stood was holy ground, and the spirit within him - a spirit of reverence and abiding faith - went out to the silent, listening men and gave them hope and courage and a sense of peace. By his very presence, somehow, he could turn a stinking, louse-ridden mud hut, for a little while, into a cathedral.

He did a thousand little things to keep us going. He gathered and washed the foul undergarments of the dead and distributed them to men so weak from dysentery they could not move, and he washed and tended these men as if they were little babies. He traded his watch for a blanket, and cut it up to make warm socks for helpless men whose feet were freezing. All one day, in a freezing wind, with a sharp stick and his bare hands, he cut steps in the steep, ice-covered path that led down to the stream, so that the men carrying water would not fall. The most dreaded housekeeping chore of all was cleaning the latrines, and men argued bitterly over whose time it was to carry out this loathsome task. And while they argued, he’d slip out quietly and do the job."

From a February 8, 1954 letter of POW Captain Robert Burke: "When most of us were down on our backs and a siege of dysentery swept the area, our benevolent padre would go out into the sub-zero temperatures at 5:30 searching for small twigs and pieces of wood, build a fire and carry water to fill the pans he diligently made of old pieces of sheet iron and then remove dirty trousers from the men who no longer could control their natural functions. After boiling this clothing and getting it dry, he would dress the pathetic hulks of skin and bones. The faint heart would become a little more audible, a spark of life light up in their hollow eyes and the ‘death stare’ would vanish as the corner of their mouths would turn up and a smile would appear on their tortured faces. A movement of the Adam’s apple on a scrawny neck would give away the lump in the throat that comes when one experiences a sentimental moment; one would swallow hard and with tears in the eyes, would manage to offer, ‘Thanks, Father."

"Gestures like this repeated morning after morning, washing clothes, bathing the body and a few well chosen words (he always knew just the right thing to say at the right time) nursed countless men back to health and today these men are home with their mothers and fathers, their sweethearts, their wives and children, their families."