A Saint and a War Hero

Father Emil Kapaun was an Army Chaplain who was killed in a Korean POW camp in May 1951, after having been captured in November 1950. The Kansas native, Father Kapaun refused to leave wounded and dying men behind during an attack by Chinese soldiers and was subsequently captured. He suffered tremendously as a prisoner but never ceased ministering to others.

Father Kapaun was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the U.S. Army's second-highest combat decoration. Efforts are underway to waive the time limit for the Medal of Honor and award Father Kapaun the military's highest decoration. 

The Catholic Church has named Father Kapaun a Servant of God. A formal inquiry is underway to determine if he will be raided to the level of a canonized Saint. 

If the efforts to award him the Medal of Honor, he will be only the fifth Catholic priest to receive the award. If he is named a Saint, Kapaun will be the first member of the U.S. military to be canonized.

The story of Father Emil Kapaun is very interesting and inspiring. The BBC has the story and more pictures of this amazing priest at "Recognition finally for a warrior priest's heroics."