Emil Joseph Kapaun – From Farm Boy to Priest to Hero

priest, ordination, priests, Fr. Kapaun

Emil Joseph Kapaun was born on a farm near Pilsen, Kansas, in 1916.  No one would have predicted that Emil would one day become a hero.

Pilsen was a tiny town of fewer than 100 people.  It was named after the city of Plzeň (Pilsen, in English) in the Czech Republic.  Emil’s parents were Czech immigrants and devout Catholics.

Besides being an excellent student, Emil became quite adept at repairing farm equipment and machinery. This knowledge would prove very beneficial when he became a prisoner during the Korean War.

Meant to be a Chaplain

Emil Kapaun was ordained a priest on June 9, 1940. In 1944, he joined the U.S. Army Chaplains Corps and was assigned to serve in Burma. He left the army in 1946 to seek an advanced degree in education. Yet he knew in his heart that his priestly ministry was to be a chaplain. Upon receiving his Master’s Degree in 1948, he re-enlisted in the Chaplain Corps.

During the Korean War, Captain Emil Kapaun, was the Catholic chaplain assigned to the 3rd Battalion of the 8th Cavalry. On November 1, 1950, the Feast of All Saint’s Day, Father Kapaun celebrated Mass for the soldiers in his battalion. In the minds of the troops the war was about over.

The North Koreans had been beaten back by the U. S. and United Nations forces. The guys were starting to think about being home for Thanksgiving and Christmas. However, those pleasant thoughts of being home for the holidays were a bit premature. Their world exploded right after midnight on November 2, All Soul’s Day.

Taken Prisoner

The area being held by 3,000 American soldiers was unexpectedly attacked by a force of more than 20,000 charging Chinese troops. The Americans, taken by surprise and fighting bravely, never had a chance.

During the fighting Father Kapaun ran from foxhole to foxhole, dragging out the wounded and giving last rites to the dying. Over the sound of gunfire and explosions, he heard confessions. Feverishly working beyond the American lines in “no-man’s land,” he even stopped an execution and negotiated with the enemy for the safety of wounded Americans.  No one knows how many young soldiers he carried to safety on his back.

After going back again and again, he was finally taken prisoner while trying to rescue another wounded soldier.  But he was not the only American GI captured that night.

Thoughts of home evaporated

By daybreak, the battle was over.  Hundreds of newly captured American POWs, including Father Kapaun, began a forced 87-mile “death march” to a POW camp.  The earlier thoughts about drumsticks on Thanksgiving  and Christmas in America quickly evaporated.   All that occupied the minds of the young soldiers who had suddenly become prisoners-of-war was every difficult step they took in the mud and snow, and the freezing cold.

The “march” was brutal. The wounded who were unable to continue were shot dead.

Father Kapaun picked up a wounded POW and began carrying him on his back. He implored others who were still in fair condition to do the same. Some followed his example, and somehow, someway, many managed to make it alive to the prison camp.

Praying the Rosary Together

Father Kapaun cared not an iota about himself. Against the orders of his Chinese guards, he cared for the sick and wounded.  He built fires for warmth and cooking and searched for scraps of food.  He even set up a make-shift system to purify drinking water.

But what infuriated the guards most was how Father Kapaun managed to bring the men together.  He brought officers and enlisted men, black men and white men, even atheists, agnostics, and others, together to say the Rosary.

Father Kapaun became an inspiration to the other POWs. The priest would preach openly to the men even though his captors ordered him not to do so. He would pray one-on-one with POWs, and some even embraced the faith and were baptized.  But praying was banned, so when Father Kapaun ignored the ban and prayed with his men, his captors retaliated.  They stripped him naked and made him stand on a block of ice for hours on end. It is hard to imagine enduring such cruelty.

On Easter Sunday, 1951, the bedraggled, starving prisoners saw a silhouetted figure standing alone, illuminated by the morning sun. As the men approached, they realized it was Father Kapaun. He was wearing his purple stole and holding a Roman Missal. Somehow he had received permission to hold an Easter Service. He could not say Mass but he read some Psalms.  Then everyone recited out loud the prayers from Good Friday, including the Stations of the Cross. Survivors say that some men openly wept.

Father Kapaun, worn down from the horrendous conditions and suffering from his own wounds and poor treatment, died on May 23, 1951. He was credited with saving hundreds of lives through the loving care, compassion and spirituality he demonstrated to all his men.

Hero and Servant of God

Fr. Kapaun’s  awards include the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Bronze Star and many others.

In 1993, Captain Chaplain Emil Joseph Kapaun was declared a “Servant of God” by Pope John Paul II. The canonization process of this selfless priest is underway, and there are currently two miracles under investigation. The simple priest from a little farm in Kansas is truly an inspiration for us all.

Servant of God, Emil Kapaun, please pray for us.

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8 thoughts on “Emil Joseph Kapaun – From Farm Boy to Priest to Hero”

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  4. Praise and Thanks be for our soldiers, who give themselves to protect our Country from evil and hateful dangerously murderers, who slaughter the innocent people. Families created by God to worship His Holiness and His Blessed Creation. Innocent unborn babies, born and aborted by the stupidity of selfish greedy persons. Do they realize that they will be judged by God and will be punished for their votes of pro-abortion people. Blessings on the peacemakers. St. Theresa, Pope John Paul, St. Kateri Tekawitha, all our Saints who are here to help us.

  5. From oldest child, to husband, to father and to writer I celebrate your talent. The words you bring to life tell us so much more than the story. They tell us of the love you have for sharing your thoughts and stories. So glad I was gifted to read this!

  6. Thank you so much for that. It was something that I needed to hear because of my frustration with my own congregation regarding abortion.

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