KTWU Sunflower Journeys 1610C - Father Kapaun
Produced by Jim Kelly
Roy Bird, Historian: He was raised in the faith. He grew up in the church. And even as a youngster, played priest with his younger brother. He would pretend to be distributing communion. Kapaun was ordained in 1940 and became assistant pastor at his home parish in pilsen. but during World War II, Fr. Kapaun found his true calling.....ministering to the spiritual needs of the United States army Roy Bird: By 1944, he decided he was going to enlist and become a Chaplin the military. He did so, he enlisted and became a 2nd Lieutenant, and served in the military. He served in the Burma, China, India theater, from 1944 to 1945. Narrator: As a parish priest. but in 1948 he re-enlisted, was assigned to the 8th cavalry regiment, and was sent to japan as part of the U.S. occupation force. Roy Bird: When the North Koreans crossed the 38th parallel, the 8th Cavalry was one of the first units to be sent over to Korea, to help defend along with the south Korean troops. Narrator: Fr. Kapaun did whatever he could to help his fellow soldiers, whether they were catholic or not. he said mass, using the hood of his Jeep as an altar. and when his jeep was blown out from under him, Fr. Kapaun tended his flock from the back of a bicycle. Kapaun was never far from the fighting. he was often seen risking his own life to retrieve wounded soldiers from the battlefield. And on two separate occasions, Fr. Kapaun actually had his pipe shot out of his mouth. then, on November 1st , 1950, while his unit was falling back from a communist offensive, chaplain Emil Kapaun became a prisoner of war. Roy Bird: Just as he was getting ready to leave, the chaplain discovered that there was a pocket of American troops from his unit who had not been able to get away. Most of them were wounded, they were cut off. And one of the American doctors with the military, Dr. Anderson, was going back to assist those wounded troops. Chaplain Kapaun voluntarily accompanied captain Anderson and went back. Eventually, the Chaplain Kapaun was instrumental in negotiating the surrender to the Chinese of this pocket of American troops. He was the one who did most of the negotiating and he was the only unwounded member of that body that was captured. Narrator: Chaplain Kapaun continued his ministry as a prisoner of war. meeting both the spiritual and physical needs of his men. Roy Bird: He would give up his own rations, and at this time the pows were almost all on starvation rations. And the chaplain would give his own up to give to one of the sick or wounded soldiers at the hospital. And when he ran out of food, he developed a nickname in the short time he was there in the pow camp. They called him Fr. Dismus, named after the good thief who was crucified with Christ. They called him that because he would sneak out whenever he had the opportunity and steal food. Usually it was just a few pocket's full of corn from the prison guards. Narrator: Eventually, the strain of captivity and self sacrifice took it's toll. after months of illness, Fr. Kapaun was admitted to the camp hospital. Roy Bird: They had several hospitals at the camp, and the one to which they took Fr. Kapaun to was known as the one from which no one returned. And indeed that was the case. When he entered the hospital, that was the last time any of the American troops saw Chaplain Kapaun. Narrator: Fr.kapaun died on may 23rd, 1951. but it didn't take long for him to be recognized as a hero in his home state. Mike Wescott, Director Of Development, Kapaun/Mt. Carmel Catholic High School: Men started stepping forward immediately, talking about his heroics, things he would do to save other men, things he would do to go out of his way to help them in their time of need. Narrator: In 1956, the Wichita Catholic Diocese dedicated chaplain Kapaun Memorial High School, which later merged with Mt. Carmel Academy to form Kapaun/Mt. Carmel Catholic High School. Following the 50th anniversary of the Chaplain's death, the school put together an elaborate display of his personal possessions and other artifacts. Mike Wescott: The middle section is a display case that surrounds the cross that one of the fellow pows, actually a Jewish man, carved in the pow camp after Fr. Kapaun died. And then gave it to the diocese sometime thereafter. Narrator: Fr. Kapaun has always been a hero in his hometown. but it's been 50 years since his death, and some residents of Pilsen were concerned that his memory would fade with each passing generation. Rose Mary Neuwirth, Pilsen: And I started teaching my kid's religion class here in our parish and the young kids didn't know anything about Father. And all of a sudden it dawned on us, "hey, we're losing Father Kapaun somewhere." Narrator: The chaplain Kapaun memorial, sculpted by artist Daniel Hunt, was dedicated on June 3rd of 2001. Rose Mary Neuwirth: The day we did our dedication, there were 1500 people in this little town. Our church was full, our basement was full. And to think, people came.....somebody went around and counted twenty two states represented by car tags. Narrator: The monument is a fitting tribute to a man that many consider a saint. in fact, there are some who have taken up the cause of having Kapaun declared a saint by the Vatican. Mike Wescott: Back in the early 90's, the military Archdiocese really initialized that process and was able to get him declared a "Servant of God". And a Servant of God, as I understand it is really the first of three significant steps in that process towards canonization. In January of this year, the Wichita Diocese officially requested of the military Diocese, to assume responsibility for that process, towards taking him to the next step which would be calling him "Blessed". And then the final step would be naming him as a Saint. That would be the final step of canonization.
This transcript is from KTWU's Sunflower Journeys 2003 season. A production
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