April 12, 2013, - 5:04 pm
Father Emil Kapaun: A Real American Hero Finally Gets His Due 60 Years Late (VIDEO)
Father Emil Kapaun, a Catholic priest and military chaplain, is truly a saint. He sacrificed his life and well-being for American soldiers in North Korea. Now, this incredible hero is finally getting the recognition he deserved. I think of what Father Kapaun gave up to save American soldiers from the enemy in battle and contrast it with the Air Force Chaplain who’s getting a Bronze Star for giving a Powerpoint presentation on how to properly handle the Koran.
Watch this short, but VERY TOUCHING, video on Father Kapaun.
Father Emil Kapaun was called a “shepherd in combat boots,” a hero who fought with faith and valor instead of guns and grenades. Sixty years after saving hundreds of soldiers in the dark days of the Korean War, Kapaun was honored today with the Medal of Honor, the military’s highest award. “This is the valor we honor today — an American soldier who didn’t fire a gun, but who wielded the mightiest weapon of all, a love for his brothers so pure that he was willing to die so that they might live,” Obama said at a White House ceremony.
When Chinese forces entered the war with a massive surprise attack, his commanders ordered an evacuation, but Kapaun stayed to help his fellow soldiers. He gathered the injured, tended to their wounds and ultimately helped negotiate a safe surrender. As his captors were leading him away, Kapaun noticed a wounded American soldier, laying defenseless in a ditch. An enemy soldier stood over him, a gun pointed at his head. Undeterred, Kapaun marched over and pushed the enemy solider aside, saving his comrade. Today, that soldier, Sgt. Herbert Miller, wept as he sat in the front row of the East Room of the White House, listening to Obama retell his story. . . .
But Kapaun’s bravery didn’t end there. “He carried that injured American, for miles, as their captors forced them on a death march. When Father Kapaun grew tired, he’d help the wounded soldier hop on one leg. When other prisoners stumbled, he picked them up. When they wanted to quit — knowing that stragglers would be shot — he begged them to keep walking,” Obama explained. In the prisoner-of-war camp that winter, Kapaun made it his mission to help keep his fellow Americans alive, offering them his clothing and sneaking past guards to forage for food. “They lived in filth. He washed their clothes and he cleansed their wounds,” Obama explained.
The horrendous conditions, however, finally took their toll on Kapaun. As he was taken by guards to a “death house,” where he would be left to die, he blessed his captors. “Forgive them,” he said, “for they know not what they do.” After seven months as a prisoner, Kapaun died of starvation and pneumonia, and was buried in an unmarked grave. His remains are still somewhere in North Korea.
And, yet, Dennis Rodman is the one who gets the notoriety for his stint in North Korea. How ’bout we trade Rodman for Kapaun’s remains?
Tags: Emil Kapaun, Emil Kapaun Medal of Honor, Father Emil Kapaun, Fr. Emil Kapaun, Korea, Korean War, Medal of Honor, North Korea
This is a blessed man, under any religious standards.
This reminds me of a Hungarian Jewish immigrant to the United States. Tibor Rubin He went through the concentration camps, came to America, , and fought for the USA and was captured in Korea. His captors offered to send him back to Hungary, then a communist ally of North Korea. He said no, that he was a proud American. Much like Father Kapaun, he aided and gave comfort to his fellow POW’s, telling them to be strong, and teaching them how to survive (as he had experience in Nazi concentration camps). He was awarded the Medal of Honor under George Bush.
Two great men. Now compare them to Dennis Rodman, Barack Obama, and Nancy Pelosi. How far we have fallen.
Jonathan E. Grant on April 12, 2013 at 5:37 pm