CV NEWS FEED // This Memorial Day, as America unites to honor those who gave their lives in military service, it’s only fitting that we also remember the spiritual fathers who loved their flock to the end as chaplains.
Three of these American-born priests stand out not only for their heroic military service but also for the fact that they are candidates for sainthood! Their example of unwavering devotion to God and willingness to sacrifice for their countrymen serve as a poignant reminder of the true spirit of Memorial Day.
Here are their inspiring stories:
Fr. Emil Kapaun
Emil Joseph Kapaun was born in 1916 to a family of farmers in Pilsen, Kansas. He was ordained in 1940.
After serving at his home parish for a few years, Fr. Kapaun was appointed auxiliary chaplain at the Army air base in Herington, Kansas, where he first became acquainted with the needs of military chaplaincy. With a heart ready for service, Kapaun requested to remain a chaplain and was soon sent abroad to India and Burma in 1945.
Kapaun was deployed to Korea in 1950 and fearlessly ministered in the thick of the horrors of war, praying with soldiers in foxholes and saying Mass on the hood of his jeep in the battlefield. Multiple times, he narrowly escaped death as he ran in the line of fire to administer last rites to the dying and carry the wounded to safety, including enemy soldiers. He was captured by North Korean and Chinese forces on November 1, 1950.
Kapaun suffered greatly as a prisoner of war, and his faith was tested to its limits when he was sentenced to a prison camp. Despite enduring brutal conditions, he continued to minister to his fellow captives’ spiritual and physical needs, sharing whatever scraps of food he could find and offering prayers and encouragement.
Seven months after his imprisonment, he died in the camp of malnutrition and pneumonia at the age of 35. Kapaun was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 2013 for his extraordinary bravery and sacrifice. He is venerated as a Servant of God.
Fr. Vincent Capodanno
Born on Staten Island in 1929, Vincent Capodanno became a priest and Maryknoll missionary, working in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
In 1965, he volunteered to serve as a Navy chaplain with the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. Fr. Capodanno demonstrated bravery and compassion in seven combat operations, risking his life to tend to the spiritual and physical needs of soldiers on the front lines.
On September 4, 1967, during Operation Swift, Capodanno was severely injured by an exploding mortar round. Part of his hand was severed. Even as his body failed him, Capodanno continued to work his way through the field, refusing medical care so it could be used on other fallen men. Cappodano finally died after being shot 27 times while shielding a wounded Marine.
In 2006, Fr. Capodanno was declared a Servant of God. He has also posthumously received several awards, including the Medal of Honor, the Navy Bronze Star medal, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Silver Star, and the Purple Heart Medal.
Fr. Joseph Verbis Lafleur
Louisiana-born Joseph Verbis Lafleur was ordained a priest in 1938. His initial request for chaplaincy during World War II was denied. The young priest persisted and was eventually commissioned to serve in the Philippines as an Army chaplain.
Lafleur bravely administered the sacraments and medical care on the battlefield. After the Japanese invasion in 1941, he was offered a chance to escape but chose to remain with his men. Fr. Lafleur was later captured and spent two years in various Japanese prison camps working in rice fields.
Lafleur would secretly tend to the sick in the camp hospital and would trade personal items like his glasses or watch for food or medicine for them. He even constructed a makeshift bamboo chapel to celebrate Mass, hiding wine in a medicine dropper to use for consecration.
Though sick and exhausted, in 1943, Fr. Lafleur volunteered to take the place of another POW on a ship bound for a Japanese airstrip in Lasang, Philippines. Later he was sent on another ship that gave no outward indication that it was carrying prisoners. An American submarine torpedoed the ship.
Lafleur kept his composure, leading all in a rosary and helping to evacuate as many men as he could. He was last seen on the sinking ship’s ladder. His body was never recovered. After his death, Fr. Lafleur was awarded the Purple Heart, a Bronze Star, and a second Distinguished Service Cross. In 2020, he was named Servant of God.
