Father emil kapaun sainthood
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Biography for Chaplain (Capt.) Emil Kapaun
Chaplain (Capt.) Emil Kapaun was born in 1916 on a rural farm in Kansas, to parents of German-Bohemian ancestry. He had one sibling, a brother named Eugene. As a boy, Emil learned to repair farm implements, a skill that would serve him well later in life, during his internment at a prisoner-of-war camp.
Kapaun was ordained a Catholic priest in 1940 and joined the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps in 1944. After a brief post in Camp Wheeler, Georgia, Ch. Kapaun served the remainder of World War II in the Burma and India Theater. In 1946, he separated from the Army and spent the next two years earning his advanced degree in education.
In1948, Kapaun decided to enlist in the Army Chaplain Corps for the second time. He mobilized in support of the Korean War in 1950, and served as a chaplain with the 1st Cavalry Division in Japan and Korea before he was taken prisoner on November 2, 1950, during the Battle of Unsan. During the fight, which started on November 1, 1950, Kapaun moved repeatedly under enemy direct fire to rescue wounded from a no-man
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Meet Emil Kapaun
Life on the Farm
Emil’s German-Bohemian ancestry was typical for the residents of Pilsen in 1916 and even to this day. With only one brother, Eugene, Emil always had a close relationship with his family. He was a willing worker who was assigned chores such as gardening and weeding on the family farm. For recreation Emil enjoyed walking the pastures, hunting, swimming and fishing. Even as a youth, Emil was skilled at repairing and building implements, a talent that served him well all his life, especially in the prisoner of war camp.
The young Emil was quiet and retiring, with a keen sense of humor. Like his parents, the Kapaun boy was hard working and neighborly, and, as was typical of the German-Bohemian immigrants of the area, he was also tenacious and determined.
School Days
He attended school in Pilsen, where three Adorer of the Precious Blood of Christ Sisters (whose mother house was in Wichita) taught him through the tenth grade. He received his First Holy Communion on May 29, 1924, and he was confirmed on April 11, 1929, seven months aft
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Emil Kapaun
Korean War U.S. Army chaplain and Medal of Honor recipient
Servant of God Emil Kapaun | |
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Captain Chaplain Emil Joseph Kapaun. | |
| Birth name | Emil Joseph Kapaun |
| Born | (1916-04-20)April 20, 1916 Pilsen, Kansas, United States |
| Died | May 23, 1951(1951-05-23) (aged 35) Pyoktong, North Korea |
| Resting place | National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii (1956–2021) |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service / branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1944–1946,[1] 1948–1951[1] |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | 3rd Battalion 8th Cavalry[2] |
| Battles / wars | World War II Korean War (DOW) |
| Awards | Medal of Honor Legion of Merit Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device Purple Heart Prisoner of War Medal Taegeuk Order of Military Merit |
Emil Joseph Kapaun (April 20, 1916 – May 23, 1951) was a Catholicpriest and United States Armycaptain who served as a United States Army chaplain during World War II and the Ko
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