I
would first like to thank those who are here and
who
currently serve in the armed forces and all our veterans. Thank you
for your willingness to sacrifice yourself for our country. And we
ask God to bless you for that.
My
nephew, Army Staff Sargent Christopher Woods, received the purple
medal as a result of being wounded in Afghanistan. He is currently
stationed at Fort Riley.
I
also have two other nephews who served in the military, a
grandfather, several uncles and cousins, who also served in the
military.
Today,
we honor the brave women and men who proudly wore the uniform of our
armed forces and made the ultimate sacrifices that have become the
lifeblood of our republic. We should keep in mind not only the
sacrifice of the men and women who gave their lives in service to the
country, but also Christ’s sacrifice, which is at the heart of the
faith of Christians. Our Lord said, “There is no greater love than
this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
The
Cross of Jesus points to sacrificial love because on the Cross, He
laid down His life to free us from sin. The sacrifices made by our
countrymen and women throughout American history are a reminder of
Christ’s sacrifice. Memorial Day can help inspire us to the
greatest thing of which we are capable, by God’s grace: sacrificial
love. Love that sacrifices for the beloved is divine and the only
true love. The cost of freedom has been blood. The blood of Jesus
shed for the freedom of sins. The blood of soldiers shed that we may
live in freedom in our nation.
Did
you know there are 28 Kansans who have been awarded the Congressional
Medal of Honor? Today, I would like to speak about the last Kansan,
who was awarded the medal.
In
2013, 10 yrs ago, a fellow Kansan was awarded the highest military
honor called the Congressional Medal of Honor. The following is from
the US Department of Defense website. The website states: On April
11, 2013, after 60 years of ceaseless advocating by his fellow
soldiers and prisoners of war, Chaplain Emil Kapaun was awarded our
nation’s highest award for valor for his actions at the Battle of
Unsan, North Korea, Nov 1-2, 1950. Chaplain Kapaun is one of 5
chaplains, in the entire US, since the Civil War- to be awarded the
Medal of Honor.
The
Medal is very rare, with less than 0.01% of combat troops
receiving the award. It is awarded only for the most courageous
and often sacrificial acts while engaged in battle. More than just a
recognition of a moment in time, the Medal represents core values
that make its bearers and our nation unique: courage, sacrifice,
patriotism, and more. By law, only U.S. service
members who distinguish themselves “through conspicuous gallantry
and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of
duty” can receive the medal.
Army
Chaplain Emil Kapaun inspired his men during the Korean War with
calm, courageous leadership, instilling in his fellow prisoners of
war a desire to stay strong — even after he no longer could.
His actions eventually earned him the nation's highest military
honor, as well as a potential path to sainthood.
Kapaun
was born April 20, 1916, in rural Pilsen, Kansas. After being
ordained a priest, Kapaun was serving as an auxiliary chaplain at
Herington Air Base, in 1944 when he noticed the need for faith-based
leaders in the military. He felt compelled to join, so, on July 12,
1944, he became an Army chaplain, serving for the rest of World War
II in the China-Burma-India theater. When the war in Korea broke
out, he was deployed in July 1950 with the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry
Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division.
By
the fall of 1950, Kapaun's battalion had pushed depleted North Korean
soldiers back to Unsan. It was assumed the war would soon be over
since things were looking good for the U.S. and its South Korean
allies. But on Nov. 1, 1950, the tide turned when Chinese Communists
joined North Korean forces and launched a vicious attack.
During
the fight, Kapaun calmly walked through the battle zone, offering
comfort and medical aid to the injured and helping to pull men out of
an area. The Americans were able to repel the assault initially, but
by nighttime, they were surrounded and forced to find safety in
foxholes and behind bunkers. By midnight, the battalion was ordered
to evacuate before the Chinese blocked all escape routes.
The
following day, the US forces were overwhelmed by enemy Chinese
Communist troops. During the retreat, Fr. Kapaun continually ran back
directly into enemy fire, to drag wounded soldiers to safety. In the
midst of the heavy hand-to-hand combat, he assembled 30 wounded
soldiers in a dugout. In the midst of flying bullets, his corncob
pipe was shot by enemy gunfire.
By
the end of the day, he saved 15 men. He and another soldier also
retrieved the dead bodies of more than 100 soldiers. After the
Chinese rushed the American line six times, the US soldiers ran out
of ammunition, and resorted to throwing rocks at the enemy. The
soldiers yelled at Fr. Kapaun, telling him to run, but he refused.
When the Chinese entered the dugout, they found Fr. Kapaun
administering the last rites to a dying soldier.
As
Kapaun was led away, he saw a Chinese soldier preparing to shoot a
wounded American soldier, Sgt. 1st Class Herbert A. Miller. Without
concern for himself, Kapaun pushed that enemy soldier aside, picked
up Miller and started to carry him away. Stunned, the enemy
soldier allowed it. Kapaun ended up carrying Miller for miles as they
incessantly marched toward the unknown. The chaplain helped others
who struggled, begging them to not give up so they wouldn't be shot.
After
being marched from village to village with little food or water,
Kapaun and his men ended up at a POW camp in Pyoktong on the bank of
the Yalu River.
While
in captivity, Kapaun remained a trusted leader. His courage inspired
prisoners of all faiths to survive the camp’s hellish conditions
and the frigid temperatures, resist enemy indoctrination, and keep
hope alive. He helped the wounded and often sneaked out at night to
steal food for the prisoners.
"He
was the best food thief we had," said Army Capt. Joseph
O'Connor, a fellow POW. Once, he came back with a sack of potatoes.
How he got it I'll never know — it must have weighed 100
pounds."
Fr.
Kapaun prayed with people of all faith and daily read bible passages
to them. He encouraged them telling them to not give up, but that
they would eventually go home. He became a witness for Christ.
When
the Communists attempted to indoctrinate the American Soldiers with
false ideas, Chaplain Kapaun, counteracted their ideas in such a way,
which humiliated and infuriated them, so much so, they hated him.
By
spring, however, the camp's squalid conditions and inhumane
punishments had taken their toll. Kapaun grew seriously ill and
malnourished, but he managed to hold one last Easter Mass for the
prisoners in late March. Shortly after that, he was transferred to an
old pagoda that the Chinese called a hospital. It was unheated and
filthy, and it was reported that its prisoners weren’t given food
or medical attention. Kapaun died there on May 23, 1951. He was 35
yrs. old.
At
the end of his life, when the Chinese cut off all medical care, and
deprived him of all food, he was heard whispering the Gospel passage,
“Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do.”
In
August 1951, Kapaun was honored with the Distinguished Service Cross,
the nation's second highest medal for valor, while he was
still listed as missing in action. Officials learned of his death
when his fellow POWs were released after the armistice was signed in
1953.
For
decades, Kapaun's comrades lobbied Congress to get his Distinguished
Service Cross upgraded to the Medal of Honor. On April 11, 2013, that
request was granted. President Barack Obama lauded the chaplain's
service during a While House ceremony. "[Kapaun was] an American
soldier who didn't fire a gun but who wielded the mightiest weapon of
all — the love for his brothers — so pure that he was
willing to die so they might live..”
"After
70 years, Chaplain (Capt.) Kapaun has been accounted for," acting
Army Secretary John E. Whitley said in March, 2021 in a news release.
He had previously been buried with a group of 866 other “unknowns”
at the National Memorial Cemetery in Honolulu due to an armistice
agreement whereby the remains of the soldiers could be returned to
the US. Officials told Ray Kapaun that his uncle's remains,
along with those of several other soldiers, were returned to the U.S.
shortly after the end of the war and buried at the National Cemetery
of the Pacific in Hawaii. They were only recently identified using
dental records and DNA. He has since been buried in the Cathedral of
the Immaculate Conception in Wichita and people can come to honor his
remains in his tomb. There are still more than 7,500 unaccounted-for
Korean War service members.
In
1993, Pope John Paul II declared Kapaun a servant of God — the
first step toward sainthood.
Today,
let us remember all those who have ever served in our military,
especially those from our own families and town of Little River. As
their faces are seen in the banners lining main street, let us raise
our hearts and prayers and salute them, thanking God for their
willingness to defend our freedom and even die for it. And let us
remember and pray for military personnel, who suffer from the effects
of war, including PTSD, the loss of limbs, and the inability to live
life as before. May we pray for them and support for their bravery
and love of their fellow countrymen.
And
we pray for the souls of all our veterans that all may enjoy life in
heaven with the Most Blessed Trinity and all the angels and saints.
Amen.