Emil Kapaun

Emil Joseph Kapaun (April 20, 1916 – May 23, 1951) was an American Catholic priest and United States Army captain who served as a chaplain during World War II and the Korean War.

Kapaun was a chaplain in the Burma Theater of World War II, then served again as a chaplain with the U.S. Army in Korea, where he was captured. He died in a prisoner of war camp. In 2013, Kapaun posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his actions in Korea. He is the ninth American military chaplain awarded the Medal of Honor. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced Kapaun's body was accounted for on March 2, 2021.

In 1993, Pope John Paul II declared Kapaun a Servant of God, the first stage to canonization in the Catholic Church. In 2025, Pope Francis declared him Venerable, the next stage on the path to canonization.

Early life Emil Kapaun was born on April 20, 1916, in Pilsen Kansas, to Enos and Elizabeth (Hajek) Kapaun. His parents were Czech immigrants from Austria-Hungary.Kapaun grew up on a farm southwest of Pilsen in Marion County. He received his first communion in 1924 and his confirmation in 1929.Kapaun attended a parochial school run by the Adorer of the Precious Blood of Christ Sisters until the tenth grade.

Kapaun graduated from Pilsen High School in 1930. That same year, after deciding to become a priest, Kapaun entered the seminary college of Conception Abbey in Conception, Missouri. He complete his philosophy course work at Conception in 1936 and enrolled at the Kenrick Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. Kapaun graduated from Kenrick in 1940.

Priesthood On June 9, 1940, Kapaun was ordained a Catholic priest for the Diocese of Wichita by Bishop Christian Herman Winkelmann at the St. John’s Chapel of Sacred Heart College in Wichita, Kansas. Eleven days later, he celebrated his first mass at St. John Nepomucene Catholic Church in Pilsen.

After his ordination, the diocese assigned Kapaun as assistant pastor at St. John Nepomucene. The United States entered World War II in December 1941, In January 1943, Bishop Christian Herman Winkelmann of Wichita assigned Kapaun to serve as an auxiliary chaplain at the Herington Army Airfield near Herington, Kansas in addition to his parish assignment. Kapuan would spend three days a week at the airfield

U.S. Army service World War II

Having enjoyed his work as a chaplain at Harrington Airfield, Kapaun in July 1944 asked Winkelmann for permission to enter the US Army Chaplain Corps. Kapaun entered the U.S. Army Chaplain School at Ft. Devens in Massachusetts in August 1944. After graduating in October 1944, he began his military chaplaincy as a first lieutenant at Camp Wheeler near Macon, Georgia. He was one of two chaplains ministering to approximately 19,000 servicemen and women.

The Army in April 1945 assigned Kapaun to India to serve in the China Burma India Theater against the Japanese Army. He was assigned as assistant chaplain to the 198th Ordinance Battalion. He ministered to American soldiers and at local missions in India, sometimes traversing nearly a month by jeep or airplane. CBI Saint, Father Emil J. Kapaun

After the surrender of Japan in 1945, Kapaun was promoted to captain in January 1946. He was sent back to the United States that May. The Army discharged Kapaun from active duty in July 1946. Soon after Kapaun returned to Kansas, Winkelmann sent him to the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. Kapaun's master's dissertation was titled "“A Study of the Accrediting of Religion in the High Schools of the United States.” He was awarded a Master of Arts degree in education in February 1948.

After Kapaun graduated Catholic University, he requested permission from Bishop Mark Kenny Carroll, the new bishop of Wichita, for permission to rejoin the Army. Instead, Carroll appointed Kapaun as pastor of Holy Trinity Parish in Timken, Kansas. Six months later, he again wrote to Carroll, saying that he felt his true calling was in ministering to soldiers. This time, Carroll agreed. In September 1948, Kapaun returned to active duty and was assigned as chaplain at the Anti-Aircraft Artillery Corps unit at Fort Bliss near El Paso, Texas. In December 1949, the Army transferred Kapaun to the 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, stationed in Yokohama, Japan. He left the United States for the last time.

Korean War

Background In June 1950, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) launched a massive invasion of the Republic of Korea (South Korea). North Korea was backed logistically by the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union. Almost immediately, the ROK forces were in full retreat. Fearing a communist victory in South Korea, US President Harry S. Truman ordered the deployment of American troops, as part of a United Nations force, to stop the North Korean advance. On July 15, 1950, the 1st Cavalry Division embarked from Tokyo Bay for South Korea.

Pusan perimeter

The 1st Cavalry Division landed in South Korea on July 18, 1950. It was quickly moved up to the front line, its mission to slow the southern advance of the Korean People's Army (KPA) until more American reinforcements could arrive. During the summer of 1950, the 1st Cavalry skirmished several times with the KPA, making a series of orderly retreats towards Pusan in the far south of the Korean Peninsula.

On August 2, Kapaun and his assistant rescued a wounded soldier stranded by enemy machine gun and small arms fire. Knowing that no litter bearers were available, the two men transported the man to safety while under enemy fire. Kapaun was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with a "V" device for valor. A humble person, Kapaun was annoyed that news of the rescue had been covered by the media in the United States.

By August 4, KPA had driven the UN forces back into a small perimeter around Pusan. However, the KPA was unable to make any further advances. Kapaun continued to make the rounds in the 8th Regiment to encourage the troops and pray with them. 1st Cavalry Division Historical OverviewIn his letters home, Kapaun's main complaint was the lack of sleep for several weeks.

Advance through North Korea

On September 15th, US General Douglas McArthur launched an amphibious landing at Inchon, South Korea, north of Pusan. Fearing encirclement by UN forces, the KPA fled Pusan. The UN forces broke out of the Pusan perimeter and pursued the KPA northward. On October 9th, the 1st Cavalry crossed the 38th parallel into North Korea, capturing the capital of Pyongyang. The UN forces then advanced to within of the Chinese border.

Throughout the months of fighting, Kapaun gained a reputation for bravely serving the troops, rescuing the wounded and retrieving the dead. He baptised Korean children and heard confessions. Kapaun celebrated mass on an improvised altar set up on the front end of a Jeep. Several times his mass kit Jeep and trailer were destroyed by enemy fire. During one firefight, a bullet knocked his pipe out of his mouth. In letters home, he shared that he was thoroughly convinced other soldiers' prayers helped him survive.

Capture in battle Fearing the collapse of North Korea and the specter of American troops on its border, China decided to intervene in the war. The first engagement with the People's Volunteer Army (PVA). was the two-day Battle of Unsan near Unsan, North Korea, on November 1 to 2, 1950. Nearly 20,000 PVA soldiers attacked Kapaun's 8th Cavalry Regiment, forcing them to retreat. At one point, while aiding the wounded, Kapaun was captured by PVA soldiers, but was rescued by his comrades. The 800 soldiers of the 3rd Battalion were tasked with covering the regiment's retreat. Kapaun braved enemy fire and rescued nearly 40 men; he later received the Congressional Medal of Honor for these actions The US 5th Cavalry Regiment attempted several times to rescue the beleaguered 3rd Battalion, but was unsuccessful.

Despite pleas for Kapaun to evacuate, he chose to remain with them. Throughout the battle, Kapaun was tending the wounding and giving encouragement to the troops still fighting. On November 2, he noticed that a wounded PVA officer was in the battalion camp. Seeing that the remains of the battalion was facing slaughter, Kapaun convinced the officer to negotiate a surrender.

Prisoner of war camp

The American POWs were marched to a temporary prison camp at Sombakol. This was near the permanent camp (Prison Camp 5) at Pyoktong in North Korea, where they were later held. Kapaun was able to persuade some prisoners, who had ignored orders from their officers, to carry the wounded. A KPA soldier was ready to shoot a wounded POW who couldn't walk, but Kapaun pushed the rifle aside and picked up the man.VFW magazine, "Korean War", "Courage Beyond Belief", p. 31

At Prison Camp 5, up to two dozen men died each day from malnutrition, disease, lice, or the extreme cold. Kapaun dug latrines, gathered woods for fires for the wounded, mediated disputes between the POWS, gave his food to other POWS and attempted to raise their morale. His fellow POWs noted that Kapaun would steal food for the men. He also stood up to communist indoctrination by his captors, smuggled dysentery drugs to the doctor, Sidney Esensten, and led the POWs in prayer. Kapaun ministered to all the POWs in the camp, including the Protestant, Jewish and Muslim ones.

Death In the winter of 1951, Kapaun developed a blood clot in one of his legs, in addition to having dysentery and pneumonia. Weakening as the months passed, he was still able to lead an Easter sunrise service on March 25, 1951.

The camp guards finally took the dying Kapaun to a place in Camp 5 they called the "hospital', which in reality a hut in which men died on floor. Kapaun died there of malnutrition and pneumonia on May 23, 1951.

Burial, repatriation and identification

The former POWS at Camp 5 originally reported that the guards buried Kapaun in a mass grave near the Yalu River. However, in 2005, former POW William Hansen said he and other POWs had buried Kapaun in a single grave on higher ground, marking the gravesite with stones.Kapaun was one of twelve chaplains to die in Korea. Four Army chaplains were taken prisoner in 1950, all of whom died in captivity." Under Fire: Army Chaplains in Korea, 1950", by Mark Johnson, Branch Historian, US Army Chaplain Corps. Retrieved February 1, 2014

With the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement in 1953, hostilities ended in Korea. In keeping with the terms of this agreement, North Korea in 1954 returned 1,868 unidentified remains of America soldiers to the Army as part of Operation Glory. However, the technology did not exist then to identify them. All the remains were buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP) in Honolulu, Hawaii, around 1956.

With the advent of advanced DNA technology in the 21st century, it became possible to identify the Korean war remains. In 2018, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency began its Korean War Disinterment Project, a seven-phase plan to disinter and identify all the remaining unidentified remains in at the NMCP.On March 4, 2021, Kansas U.S. senator Jerry Moran and the Catholic Diocese of Wichita confirmed that the Department of Defense had identified Kapaun's remains.

On September 29, 2021, a Mass of Christian Burial was held for Kapaun at the Hartman Arena in Park City, Kansas. A horse-drawn caisson then carried his remains to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Wichita, where he was buried with full military honors inside the cathedral.

Citations

Medal of Honor