U.S. Army Korean War Chaplain Who Died in Captivity is Being Considered for Sainthood
This is a great article about the life of Chaplain Emil Kapaun who died while in captivity during the Korean War. Before he died he was credited for aiding and saving the lives of many Soldiers during the war and in various POW camps:
Army chaplain Emil Kapaun repairs a bicycle in Korea in August 1950. Kapaun often traveled by bicycle near the front lines to visit soldiers. (Photo courtesy Col. Raymond Skeehan)
The last time Paul Roach and Mike Dowe had seen the Rev. Emil Kapaun, he was being taken away by prison guards during the Korean War — sick, shivering and near death. More than 70 years later, in 2021, the two former Korean War prisoners traveled to Kansas to finally view the remains of their friend, the beloved Army chaplain, after the military identified Kapaun among unknown soldiers buried in Hawaii, finding remains long thought to be lost forever.
Kapaun would be welcomed home to Wichita by a crowd of more than 6,000 people and finally given a proper burial. But before the congregation paid its respects, the two aging veterans, who had been imprisoned alongside Kapaun, gathered for a private viewing beside the chaplain’s flag-draped casket. As soon as Kapaun’s remains were uncovered, Roach and Dowe recognized their friend immediately. “That’s his smile!” Roach said, recalled the Rev. Matthew Pawlikowski, a retired Army chaplain who accompanied the men to the viewing. “Even in death, he was bringing joy to people.”
You can read more at the ink.
