Gary L. Knepp
In December of 1861, Congress created the Medal of Honor to recognize members of the military who, during wartime, displayed acts of “…gallantry at the risk of his own life above and beyond the call of duty.” Since its inception more than 3,500 Americans have received the Medal of Honor. Nine of the recipients were chaplains. Among them was Captain Emil Kapuan of the United States Army.
Kapuan’s story is one of extraordinary courage, devotion and love of his comrades.
He was born in Pilsen, Kansas in 1916. He grew up on the family farm and then entered the Catholic priesthood. Father Kapuan joined the army as a chaplain, serving in Burma and India during World War 2. He left the army to pursue a master’s degree in education after which he rejoined the army.
On June 25, 1950, North Korea attacked the South. Captain Kapuan was deployed with his unit, the 8th Cavalry. He was awarded the Bronze Star for pulling a wounded soldier to safety while under intense small-arms fire.
He moved north with his regiment, crossed the 38th parallel into North Korea and pushed towards the Yalu River and China. On Nov. 1, 1950, the temperature plummeted to zero. A stiff wind blew in a heavy snow. And then, near Unsan, a large number of Chinese ambushed the allies, inflicting heavy casualties. An unarmed Kapuan jumped into action. Despite a withering attack, he methodically moved from one foxhole to the next pulling the wounded to safety.
The Chinese kept coming, forcing the allies to withdraw. In the ensuing chaos, Kapuan was captured. He escaped when his captor was shot. He was offered a ride back to the American lines, but declined the offer, saying that he had to stay behind to take care of “his boys.” Captain Kapaun negotiated a deal with the enemy, exchanging a Chinese officer for several wounded American POWs. Later, he ran up to a Chinese soldier and pushed away the rifle he had pointed at a wounded American. Kapuan picked up the G.I. and carried him.
Still dressed in their summer uniforms, the POWs were forced to march through nearly fifty miles of frozen, mountainous terrain to reach POW Camp # 5. The POWs began their descent into Hell. Approximately 500 Americans died in the camp.
The men loved Father Kapuan. He counseled them, prayed with them and wrote letters for them. He cleaned their dysentery-stricken bodies. He washed their bloody bandages in boiling water in a pot he fabricated from sheet iron. He purified their drinking water by boiling it in another pot he made.
Though starving himself, the father often shared his food with others. He gained a reputation as the camp’s best scrounger. Kapaun often left his barracks at night to raid the quartermaster, knowing full well of the severe consequences if he was caught. One night a fellow prisoner overheard Kapaun whispering prayers to Dismas, the patron saint of thieves. On one of his forages he came back with a large bag of potatoes, weighing as much as 100 pounds. One of “his boys” recalled wondering how the emaciated padre found the strength to carry such a heavy burden.
Father Kapuan broke one of the camp’s rules. As punishment, the guards took him outside, removed his clothes, and forced him to spend the night outside in sub-zero temperatures. He became sick and, with no medications, he declined rapidly. He was taken to the camp hospital which was better known as “The Death House.” He died on May 23, 1951, and was buried in an unmarked grave outside of the camp.
Captain Kapuan was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor on April 11-2013, by President Barack Obama. One of “his boys” was asked what he felt about Father Kapaun receiving the medal. He replied, “It was about damned time.”
His remains were positively identified through DNA testing in spring of 2021. They had been resting at The Punchbowl National Cemetery in Hawaii after being repatriated in 1954.
Father Kapaun has been declared to be A Servant of God by the Catholic Church, a waypoint on the road to sainthood.