(LifeSiteNews) — Three Kansas state senators have introduced legislation to place in the state capitol a statue honoring the heroic Korean War military chaplain, fellow Kansan Fr. Emil Kapaun, named a “Servant of God” by Pope Saint John Paul II in 1993.

The bill, sponsored by Republican Senators Chase Blasi, Elaine Bowers, and Richard Wilborn, declares that “Chaplain Kapaun’s life embodies the Kansas spirit and exemplifies the state motto ‘Ad astra per aspera’ (to the stars through difficulties)” and urges the capitol preservation committee to approve plans to place a permanent memorial honoring the heroic priest’s life.

Fr. Kapaun, who perished in a North Korean prison camp in May 1951, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 2013 and remains the most highly decorated chaplain United States Army history, having also received the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal with “V” device (denoting valor in combat), the Purple Heart, the Prisoner of War Medal, the Republic of Korea Taegeuk Order of Military Merit, and others. 

Saintly soldier 

Fr. Kapaun’s story is one of remarkable selflessness, service to his fellow man, and devotion to Christ and His Church. Many of his fellow prisoners who survived their interment came home with stories of this holy man. 

Shortly after North Korea invaded the south, according to a website dedicated to the cause of his canonization, Fr. Kapaun: 

… quickly earned a reputation for being a fearless soldier who risked his life to minister to the men fighting on the front lines. Along with praying with men in foxholes and saying Mass on the battlefield (oftentimes using the hood of his Jeep as the altar), Chaplain Kapaun would risk his life to administer the sacraments to the dying, to retrieve wounded soldiers, and to bury the dead – ally and enemy alike.

At one point during a battlefield conflict, “Kapaun helped rescue more than 30 wounded Soldiers and ministered to countless others,” Lt. Col. Nicholas Sinclair, Fr. Kapaun’s battalion’s current commander told the Army News Service in 2021. The report continues:

In a final effort to leave the area and avoid capture, the battalion attempted to break through the enemy’s perimeter, resulting in many Soldiers being left behind, Sinclair said. 

“Chaplain Kapaun volunteered to stay behind even though he was able bodied,” Sinclair added. “When the Chinese stormed the command post, Chaplain Kapaun inserted himself between the Chinese and wounded Soldiers.” 

During one instance, Kapaun pushed an enemy combatant over to save a wounded Soldier hiding among the dead, Sinclair said. The Chinese were stunned by this act, but Kapaun recovered the Soldier and kept him alive. 

“There were over 800 Soldiers that he visited every single day,” explained Sinclair. “He made his best effort to visit each one.” 

Perhaps the greatest testament to the impact that saintly Fr. Kapaun had on his fellow prisoners is a 47 x 28 inch wooden crucifix carved from scrap materials found around the camp not long after the priest had died, now prominently displayed in his hometown high school, which bears his name.  

Even after his death, the mere memory of his words and sacrificial deeds was enough to keep the men going through their awful torture. One POW, Major Gerry Fink, a captured Marine pilot, took note of the effects that Father Kapaun had on the men, inspired by the memory of their chaplain, who were determined to look after one another. Fink, an artist, offered his services in creating a tribute and lasting memory to Father Kapaun. Although Jewish himself, Fink carved a four-foot tall crucifix out of cherry wood and scrub oak he found in the camp.  

The crucifix “became a daily reminder for the prisoners of Father Kapaun’s sacrifice, and on the day of their release, nearly two and a half years after Father Kapaun died, they carried the cross with them to freedom.”

One soldier later shared with his family how he had wanted to give up and die, but the crucifix kept him alive and gave him hope. 

In 2021, Fr. Kapaun’s remains were positively identified after being previously interred at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii, in a grave marked as unknown, according to the Army News Service report.

His remains were returned to his hometown, Pilsen, Kansas, later that year.  

Watch this moving, short documentary account of this saintly military hero to his family and hometown decades after his death: 

The Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, opened the cause for Fr. Kapaun’s canonization in 1993, and his home diocese, the Diocese of Wichita, took up his cause in 2008.