1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,360 You're listening to a special Best of Veterans Radio program. 2 00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:07,360 This program first aired on April 6, 2013. 3 00:00:07,360 --> 00:00:10,320 You can listen to this and other Veterans Radio programs 4 00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:14,640 by going to veteransradio.net and clicking on our archives. 5 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:17,840 Now sit back and enjoy this great and amazing story 6 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:21,800 of Father Emil Kapaun, chaplain United States Army, 7 00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:23,360 a servant of God. 8 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:33,360 All across America and around the world, this is Veterans Radio. 9 00:00:33,360 --> 00:00:35,360 This is Veterans Radio. 10 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:43,360 And now your host for today's program, Bob Gould. 11 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:55,360 Today's Veterans Radio program is dedicated to the men and women 12 00:00:55,360 --> 00:01:00,360 who have served in our now serving in the Republic of South Korea. 13 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:03,360 We dedicate this program to you. 14 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:07,360 Yes, and good morning out there to our listening audience, 15 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:11,360 international, national listening right here to Veterans Radio. 16 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:15,360 By the way, this is a very, very, very, all of our programs are special, 17 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:18,360 but this one is a very close one to our heart. 18 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:22,360 We've been following the story of Father Emil Capone. 19 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:28,360 And before we get into that, I'd like to introduce today in the studio with me as guest. 20 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:31,360 First of all, today he's my wingman. 21 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:34,360 He's the co-pilot, right? 22 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:37,360 Isn't that what it would be there in the chopper? 23 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:39,360 Yes, absolutely. I'd be a Peter pilot today. 24 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:42,360 Well, of course, you all recognize that voice, right? 25 00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:45,360 That's Dale Throneberry. Let's hear it for Dale. 26 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:48,360 Hey, hey. Good morning, everybody, and welcome to Veterans Radio. 27 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:50,360 And Bob, I'm really excited about this program. 28 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:55,360 I was trying to go back through our archives and see the first time that we talked about Father Capone. 29 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:57,360 I believe it was probably somewhere around five years ago. 30 00:01:57,360 --> 00:01:59,360 I was going to say five years ago. 31 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:01,360 It was the first time you did a story about him. 32 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:05,360 And the way it's developed over the last five years, 33 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:11,360 not only the Medal of Honor, but also the Road to Sainthood, which we'll talk about later on. 34 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:13,360 But I'm fascinated. 35 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:17,360 And I congratulate you for putting this program together already before we even get it going. 36 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:19,360 Before we even get it going? That's right. 37 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:27,360 And with me to my left is Mr. Tom Loewe of the WDO Development Department. 38 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:28,360 Tom, welcome to Veterans Radio. 39 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:30,360 That's right. Yeah, listen, it's an honor to be here today. 40 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:31,360 Oh, it's an honor to have you, too. 41 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:33,360 I don't think you sat on that side. 42 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:36,360 No, I think it's the first time on the program. 43 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:39,360 Oh, yes, this is the first time I've ever been on Veterans Radio. 44 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:41,360 Oh, well, we're very honored. 45 00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:44,360 And again, I'm very honored to be here as well. 46 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:45,360 And this is great. 47 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:48,360 Just so you folks know, I'm the Development Director for Ave Maria Radio 48 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:52,360 and the Veterans Radio records right here in our studio. 49 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:54,360 So it's a double honor for us. 50 00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:55,360 So we're really pleased to be here today. 51 00:02:55,360 --> 00:03:05,360 Well, very much having you here today. 52 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:43,360 It was a time of change five years after a great world war. 53 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:51,360 No cell phones, color, flat screen TVs, laptops, internet, or social media. 54 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:56,360 It was June 25, 1950. That's where it all began at a small village 55 00:03:56,360 --> 00:04:01,360 along the 38th parallel in a country called Korea. 56 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:08,360 Located between China and Japan, Korea is known as the Belgium of the East. 57 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:16,360 Uncharted land. Who knew the events of that date that would begin to try the souls of men 58 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:18,360 and the soul of our country? 59 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:24,360 We were at peace, starting our lives in a brave new world. 60 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:34,360 But to the soldiers about to begin battle in a faraway place, spiritual comfort rules. 61 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:40,360 Father Emil Capon of Pills and Kansas answered the call. 62 00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:43,360 He was a priest of the Catholic faith. 63 00:04:43,360 --> 00:04:48,360 He wanted to serve his fellow soldiers, and so it started. 64 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:55,360 Today we celebrate the sacrifice and compassion of this remarkable man. 65 00:04:55,360 --> 00:05:12,360 Father Emil Capon. 66 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:16,360 Welcome once again to Veterans Radio. 67 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:19,360 I'm Bob Gould, your host today. 68 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:25,360 On the line with me is Father John Hotsy, who began all this folks. 69 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:30,360 Back about six years ago, I received an email from Father Hotsy. 70 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:37,360 That outlined the story of Father Capon, a priest who died in captivity, P.O.W., 71 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:42,360 in the Korean War. And again, the Korean War is known as the Forgotten War. 72 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:45,360 And probably this whole story was buried somewhere. 73 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:49,360 But there were people keeping it alive besides Father Hotsy. 74 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:55,360 Father John Hotsy is the vicar of the Archdiocese of Wichita. 75 00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:59,360 Father Hotsy, welcome once again to Veterans Radio. 76 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:00,360 Thank you. Good to be here. 77 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:04,360 Well, it's good to have you. Tell us. Tell us now. 78 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:11,360 Father Capon is about to receive the Medal of Honor on April the 11th at a White House ceremony. 79 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:16,360 And fill us in on that. I can't even begin to give it justice. 80 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:24,360 And I'd like it to come from you because you've been the one that has been in the forefront with us. 81 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:27,360 Well, I'm not really the one that's responsible for it. 82 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:32,360 I'd have to say that the people that were responsible for it were his fellow prisoners of war. 83 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:38,360 Because while I started working on it a few years ago, they've been working on it since 1953. 84 00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:46,360 When the prisoners got out of the prison camp, it was prison camp number five that Father Capon was interred in. 85 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:52,360 The moment they got out of the prison camp, they started telling whoever would listen about the story of Father Capon. 86 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:59,360 They were telling both military officials and they were also telling search officials about the great deeds that he had done. 87 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:08,360 And they're the ones that have kept it up through the years. I mean, they've been waiting for this for 60-some years, telling the story of Father Capon. 88 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:20,360 The amazing part about the story is while Father Capon was in the prison camp for just seven months, these prisoners were in that same prison camp for another two and a half years after Father Capon had passed away. 89 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:31,360 And even after those two and a half years of suffering through everything that you suffer through in his prison camp, they were still remembering fondly of Father Capon and the work that he had done. 90 00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:36,360 Most of them will say that they would not have made it out of the prison camp if it hadn't been for Father Capon. 91 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:41,360 And that sounds kind of strange because like I say, Father Capon died about two and a half years before the war. 92 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:56,360 So these men were freed from the prison camp but they'll all talk about Father Capon instilling this hope in them, a hope that they can survive, a hope that they will be able to make it back to the United States and also make it back to their country. 93 00:07:56,360 --> 00:08:00,360 So really these are the men that had been telling the story of Father Capon all these years. 94 00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:08,360 And I've just been able, in the more recent years, I've just been able to help out and help push that forward a little bit. 95 00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:16,360 So they're the ones that have really been promoting Father Capon's cause, both for his sainted but also for him to receive the Medal of Honor. 96 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:31,360 Now we just have a phone call and I'm going to interrupt you just for a moment, not the story but just as a moment we have on the line with us Archbishop Timothy B. Broglieau who was born in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. 97 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:46,360 Now by the way Archbishop, I want to be sure and get that received an email from a friend of mine, Mr. Bob Crudy, who was in high school with you and graduated with you at St. Ignatius and he said, go Wildcats. 98 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:52,360 Well that's very good. Thank you for that message. 99 00:08:52,360 --> 00:09:01,360 But I want to thank you for your time. I know you're on a very busy schedule and a tight schedule for giving us a call this morning. Let me just read this very quickly. 100 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:09,360 Born in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, attended St. Anne Elementary School in Cleveland Heights and of course St. Ignatius High School. 101 00:09:09,360 --> 00:09:24,360 He was a professor of arts in classics at Boston College and an STB in theology and a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical Georgian University in Rome, Italy. 102 00:09:24,360 --> 00:09:29,360 There's Tom Lowy just very, yeah, yeah, does all this ring a bell for you? 103 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:44,360 Well, yes, this is Tom Lowy. I'm the development director here at Auburn Maria Radio and I was just listening to Bob as you were reading the credits basically for the Archbishop how deeply informed this man is. 104 00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:46,360 It's really nice. It's really nice to have him with us. 105 00:09:46,360 --> 00:09:51,360 Oh, to have him on the program. But it goes a little further. So let me just outline this. 106 00:09:51,360 --> 00:10:07,360 On November 19, 2007, Archbishop Brogliello was named the fourth Archbishop of the Military Services, the United States Army and installed on January 25, 2008 at the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. 107 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:10,360 Welcome to Veterans Radio Archbishop. 108 00:10:10,360 --> 00:10:16,360 Well, thank you very much. I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you and speak with the listening audience. 109 00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:25,360 Well, we'd like you to expand on your role with Father Capon and this beautiful day and this day that we are celebrating. 110 00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:31,360 And we would like to welcome you to go ahead and give your feelings about this. 111 00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:55,360 Well, I think Father Hotze has already given a very cogent explanation of this honor and I think it's important to remember that what Father Capon did for his fellow prisoners of war was really an expression of who he was as a Catholic priest and as a military chaplain. 112 00:10:55,360 --> 00:11:15,360 He was clearly a man for others. He was clearly a man who put into practice the de-attitudes. He lived to make real what we say we believe. 113 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:27,360 And I think that's essential and I think it's also a good reminder of the fundamental values which are Judeo-Christian values on which our country is built. 114 00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:46,360 And Father Capon is a magnificent and a heroic expression of those values and reminds us of what is at the basis of our nation and why our nation has such a great and memorable history. 115 00:11:46,360 --> 00:12:06,360 Absolutely. And I was speaking with Tom this morning at breakfast and talked about a gentleman I interviewed who was on the 6th of June 1944, 0130 hours on a C-47 ready to jump into the darkness over France. 116 00:12:06,360 --> 00:12:16,360 And I asked him, I said, what were you thinking about thinking that well maybe a pension, my dog, my family. He said I didn't want to let my buddy down. 117 00:12:16,360 --> 00:12:17,360 Yeah, exactly. 118 00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:38,360 It wasn't about all the glories but it was about letting his buddy down and that's what it's like to be in the service and that's where Father Capon was able to, he was going to serve his fellow man. It was that calling. It was there. It was his time. 119 00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:48,360 It was, I believe, no pun intended to be ordained that it would be on that particular time. Do you want to comment on that, Archbishop? 120 00:12:48,360 --> 00:13:05,360 Well, I think that's very true. Even his own decision to stay with his fellow prisoners of war and to minister to them, I think he felt that was the logical expression of who he was. 121 00:13:05,360 --> 00:13:27,360 And certainly he had already served as a chaplain during the Second World War and then to go back into active duty was this, I think it was, he was consumed by this desire to take care of his fellow soldiers. 122 00:13:27,360 --> 00:13:37,360 Obviously, regardless of their faith conviction, regardless of who they were, it was more an expression of who he was. 123 00:13:37,360 --> 00:13:45,360 And during these times, and there always have been trying times in our country and in the Catholic faith, etc. 124 00:13:45,360 --> 00:14:04,360 But it was his calling to not beat a cliche, but it was there and there was going to be no stopping. This was it. This was his epiphany. This was what he was put on this earth to do and he knew that. 125 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:09,360 He knew this was the path that he was going to take. 126 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:28,360 That's for sure. And he rose to the occasion. I think he rose to the occasion until he drew his last breath. And that's a tremendous tribute to him and it's a tremendous tribute to the armed forces as well. 127 00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:39,360 He was not going to let his buddy down, his fellow soldiers and fellow peonauts. Tom, you have a comment. 128 00:14:39,360 --> 00:14:48,360 Your Excellency, I'm not as familiar with the story of Father Capon as others are, but I do have a couple of questions. 129 00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:59,360 I'm curious about his ministry in the camps themselves. What do you know specifically about that? Here's one question right off the bat. 130 00:14:59,360 --> 00:15:11,360 Was he able to celebrate Mass? Did his prison wards, did they allow that type of a thing? What kind of service was he actually doing within the prison camp? 131 00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:29,360 To my best of my knowledge, he was able to celebrate Mass. Whether that was clandestine or not, I don't know. But I do know that in one of the books that I read about him, there was the story of after his death one of the prison guards had the pattern that he used. 132 00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:47,360 And I think one of the prisoners took it from him. So that would seem to indicate that he celebrated Mass and was able to do that. Father Hotze might have a more complete response to that question. 133 00:15:47,360 --> 00:16:00,360 I do know that he certainly would have ministered to the Catholic POWs to the best of his ability, and that of course took care of the others as well. 134 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:14,360 Well, thank you. And it just seems to me that his service there, his ministry, was memorable. There's a lot of, whether they're Catholic or not, the stories that come back are pretty remarkable. 135 00:16:14,360 --> 00:16:38,360 They certainly are. And they indicated that he was there for everyone. And even his ability to kill for extra food stuff so that the men kept up their strength to the best of his ability, I think that's also a tribute to his willingness to serve others. 136 00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:43,360 I'm sure he was devoted to St. Dismas, the good thief. 137 00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:58,360 Well, we have quite a guest list today, and we want to thank you Archbishop Roblio for taking time and a very busy schedule to give us a call this morning. I know it's very early, and I hope you've had your cup of coffee and ready to go and give it a day. 138 00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:03,360 And thank you again for being on the program. We'd like to have you come back. Isn't that right, Dale? 139 00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:04,360 Absolutely. 140 00:17:04,360 --> 00:17:19,360 And what's the point about, let's see if I get this right, that the Center for Military Services will have to talk a little bit more about that at a future program we'd like to have you on. Once again, very good. 141 00:17:19,360 --> 00:17:22,360 Thank you for your time and a very busy day, and God bless. 142 00:17:22,360 --> 00:17:24,360 God bless you too. Thank you very much. 143 00:17:24,360 --> 00:17:37,360 Bob, I wanted to just jump in here. I've been reading this little pamphlet that was written by a Lieutenant Ray Dow, and it talks about Father Kapahn being in the prisoner of war camp. 144 00:17:37,360 --> 00:17:43,360 And of course, in North Korea, it's freezing. The conditions are just horrible, and we're not going to get into all that too much. 145 00:17:43,360 --> 00:17:45,360 It happened to be the coldest winter of 100 years. 146 00:17:45,360 --> 00:18:02,360 I know. It was one of those. But this man had such compassion for his fellow prisoners that every morning it said that he would round up a pan full of hot water and come walking into the prison hooch that they were in cheerfully saying, 147 00:18:02,360 --> 00:18:11,360 coffee everyone and pour a little hot water in everyone's bowl and they would pretend they were drinking coffee. And so his goal, obviously, there was to keep the spirits up. 148 00:18:11,360 --> 00:18:22,360 And you were in combat, Dale. So you know how important that is to have that mental well-being and to have that. 149 00:18:22,360 --> 00:18:32,360 Right. I think the idea here, not ever being a POW, of course, but just the idea of somebody watching out for you, that would be so important, I would think. 150 00:18:32,360 --> 00:18:47,360 And I think that the books and all of the guests that we've had on Veterans Radio that were POWs always talked about the spirituality of their mindset, that they had to get into this mindset that there was this power greater than them than they, 151 00:18:47,360 --> 00:18:53,360 that was watching over them. And they all did this. In fact, quick promo. 152 00:18:53,360 --> 00:19:01,360 Next week, we're going to talk to a POW from the Vietnam era. And in his book, he talks about that, the power of his belief system. 153 00:19:01,360 --> 00:19:09,360 Father Hodze, would you like to comment on the idea of celebrating Mass out there while he was a POW? Do you want to give us some of those details? 154 00:19:09,360 --> 00:19:17,360 Well, sure. Actually, I think he was only able to celebrate Mass once when he was there in the prison camp and that was soon after they were interred. 155 00:19:17,360 --> 00:19:25,360 And I don't even know that he was able to complete the Mass because at first, when they were starting to set up to celebrate Mass, the guards kind of ignored him. 156 00:19:25,360 --> 00:19:34,360 And then when they realized what was going on, I think they either tried to stop them or they didn't stop him from finishing the celebration of Mass. 157 00:19:34,360 --> 00:19:43,360 But that didn't stop Father Capon, though. I mean, he continued to have prayer services. And usually what they would do is, or what he would do is as he was going around, 158 00:19:43,360 --> 00:19:50,360 if he saw an opportunity to have like an impromptu prayer service, he would just gather people around. That were there. 159 00:19:50,360 --> 00:19:56,360 And all of the men will say that he took care of not only the Catholics, but he took care of everybody. 160 00:19:56,360 --> 00:20:03,360 He said, it didn't matter if you were a Protestant, it didn't matter if you were a Jew, it didn't matter if you were a Muslim, it didn't matter if you didn't believe in God. 161 00:20:03,360 --> 00:20:10,360 That went with Father Capon who was around. Everybody joined him in prayers. One man, a Protestant man, kind of laughed about it. 162 00:20:10,360 --> 00:20:23,360 And he said, yeah, he said, well, you're there in the hood. And he said, here we were, Protestants, Jews, nonbelievers, all praying the rosary with Father Capon because he was there bringing that sense of hope to us. 163 00:20:23,360 --> 00:20:30,360 So he would have these impromptu prayer sessions. But also, I think, probably what the men remember more so. 164 00:20:30,360 --> 00:20:38,360 Soon after they were in the prison camp, they separated the officers from the enlisted men. And it was to do what you had just talked about them doing. 165 00:20:38,360 --> 00:20:52,360 They wanted to break the morale of the men. They knew that they could probably break the morale of the enlisted men easier than they could the officers because the officers were older and the enlisted men being in their late teens and early 20s. 166 00:20:52,360 --> 00:21:04,360 But that didn't stop Father Capon from going to minister to the enlisted men either because at night he would get up and he would break into, or I break out of the officers compound and go into the enlisted men's compound. 167 00:21:04,360 --> 00:21:17,360 And they would talk about him going from hut to hut to check on the men. They said that he would come in and he would check first, check to see if everybody was doing all right or if he needed to make sure a doctor got to them the next day. 168 00:21:17,360 --> 00:21:28,360 If he had any food that he had been able to seal or take from the rations of the North Koreans or the Chinese, he would pass out the food that he had for him. 169 00:21:28,360 --> 00:21:42,360 And one guy said, Father Capon was known for having a pipe. And they said that he would take his pipe and he would line up his pipe and he said he would take a puff of the pipe and then pass it around so everybody could have a puff of the pipe. 170 00:21:42,360 --> 00:21:45,360 Could have a little bit of tobacco. I love it. 171 00:21:45,360 --> 00:21:59,360 The funny part is one man was talking to me and he said, Father, I think we had tobacco for the first couple of weeks. But after that he said, I know he had ran out of tobacco and he said, I have no idea why you're smoking. 172 00:21:59,360 --> 00:22:05,360 Could have been what, but it was in a way that's like sharing communion. 173 00:22:05,360 --> 00:22:06,360 Exactly. 174 00:22:06,360 --> 00:22:20,360 And it's a way of bonding. He was, I don't want to use the word obsessed. He was driven. There we go. He was driven. No, obsession. No, no, we don't want to use. He was driven and there was no stopping him no matter what. 175 00:22:20,360 --> 00:22:26,360 The Chinese, the North Koreans, there was no stopping him. Comment on that, Father? 176 00:22:26,360 --> 00:22:38,360 Well, if I go back to my story a little, I think it will demonstrate it. The guys say that after he passed the pipe around, he would say, well, let's pray. And he said he would leave them in prayer and then he would go from that hat to the next hat. 177 00:22:38,360 --> 00:22:52,360 But he would not stop, not stop doing that. I mean, he would do it at night. One guy asked me, he said he'd, I don't even know if he ever slept. He said it seemed like he was always on the go, always doing something, always having that drive to go out and do help others. 178 00:22:52,360 --> 00:23:10,360 I did hear one story. It was from a commanding officer of his once and he said this was prior to them being captured. And he said oftentimes he said I had time. He said I had a hard time sleeping at night. He said I would be worried about what was going on and what battles were going to be coming our way and things. 179 00:23:10,360 --> 00:23:28,360 So he said he would often get up and walk around the camp at night. And he said more often than not, he said he would go and he would see some light on in the hut that sooner or sooner or sooner than anybody there and he would go and he said it would be Father Capon and he'd be in their writing letters home to the families of the soldiers that had passed away. 180 00:23:28,360 --> 00:23:44,360 They said he just kept going and kept doing things. And when you look at it and you hear the stories, I mean people that helped me gather information that we sent over to Rome. One man said he said, well, he said I don't know how he was able to accomplish everything that he had done. 181 00:23:44,360 --> 00:24:00,360 And this man said that he had taken the time and he had made a timeline from stories that we had heard of Father Capon. And there are all things where he had done things right after the another. And it was like how could you possibly do all of this stuff? 182 00:24:00,360 --> 00:24:07,360 So you're right. I mean he was a driven man and he was driven by his need to help his fellow soldier. 183 00:24:07,360 --> 00:24:23,360 No stopping, no stopping, nothing, no, not the weather, not the brutality and fact that usually steals people even more to resist tyranny and to resist discomfort and to prevail. 184 00:24:23,360 --> 00:24:29,360 Right now on the line, stay on the line, please, Father John. Okay, on the line with me. 185 00:24:29,360 --> 00:24:44,360 Bob reaches over is Mr Roy Vensel. He's an international award winning reporter. He's now working with the Wichita Eagle and he's written a couple of books. 186 00:24:44,360 --> 00:25:00,360 The latest one, the second book was published last month by, we'll get this, St. Ignace Press. I should probably spell that, IGNATIUS. And it's called The Miracle of Father Capon. You're all going to want this. 187 00:25:00,360 --> 00:25:10,360 You have a veteran in the family. You're going to want this. You're going to want this book. In fact, I gave a copy of it to Tom and he's had a chance to look at it. Isn't that a wonderful book? 188 00:25:10,360 --> 00:25:21,360 It really is. It's quite beautiful. It's lavishly illustrated. No doubt about it. And the amount of information that's in it is very carefully put together. 189 00:25:21,360 --> 00:25:27,360 This man has done a great job of telling this story. So it's really good that he's here with us today so we can talk. 190 00:25:27,360 --> 00:25:41,360 Absolutely. And we have the author. So currently he is with the Wichita Eagle. He is the author of The Miracle of Father Capon. It's also on DVD. Veterans Radio, welcome to Roy Vensel. 191 00:25:41,360 --> 00:25:43,360 Glad to be here. 192 00:25:43,360 --> 00:25:49,360 Glad we could have you there all the way to Wichita. And what's the weather like down there? 193 00:25:49,360 --> 00:25:52,360 It's just a little nice and windy and cool. 194 00:25:52,360 --> 00:26:02,360 It's a typical April day in Kansas. Yeah. I was down there at Fort Riley. I know it well. Roy, why don't you fill us in? We've only got a couple minutes before the halfway break. 195 00:26:02,360 --> 00:26:09,360 But just give us a little something about how you put all this together, the DVD and the book. 196 00:26:09,360 --> 00:26:16,360 We started working on it with one phone call to some priest named John Hotsey. 197 00:26:16,360 --> 00:26:19,360 Yeah, we've heard of him. 198 00:26:19,360 --> 00:26:28,360 I had some preconceived notions and didn't want to do the story, but I went to that priest and he straightened me out, at least on that. 199 00:26:28,360 --> 00:26:34,360 And we started working on it. He was the one who told me, this really got us going. 200 00:26:34,360 --> 00:26:40,360 I thought it was just another old anniversary story that my editors were trying to make me do. 201 00:26:40,360 --> 00:26:50,360 But when I called him at their suggestion, I found out from him that the Medal of Honor investigation had heated up again. 202 00:26:50,360 --> 00:26:59,360 And the Sainthood investigation had heated up again quite a bit. And these two parallel investigations were really getting very interesting. 203 00:26:59,360 --> 00:27:11,360 And the other preconceived notion I had was, well, how am I going to do this? It's been close to 60 years. Surely his friends are a little too old to help me out enough. 204 00:27:11,360 --> 00:27:28,360 And he assured me now he had talked to them. A bunch of them were still alive, still very vigorous and still very irritated that there was no Medal of Honor for a guy that they had seen up close do everything and beyond that made him very deserving. 205 00:27:28,360 --> 00:27:37,360 So we spent six months. My friend Travis Hine, a great photojournalist, and I went all over the country and interviewed some of these guys. 206 00:27:37,360 --> 00:27:45,360 It was probably one of the more interesting and moving stories we've ever worked on together or separately. 207 00:27:45,360 --> 00:27:57,360 And they filled us in about what he did. And it took us six months. We put that together and then about a year and a half or so later, St. Ignatius Press got in touch with us 208 00:27:57,360 --> 00:28:06,360 and said, you know, we kind of like your story. Would you mind turning it into a book? And I thought about that really long and hard. 209 00:28:06,360 --> 00:28:20,360 And then, okay, fine. We now have a book with a lot more information than we had in the 2009 story. And now all of this is happening just at the same time the book is coming out. 210 00:28:20,360 --> 00:28:22,360 So we're kind of pleased with that. 211 00:28:22,360 --> 00:28:30,360 Well, we'll get to that in just a moment. I can't believe the timing on this. This guy is really good folks, right? We've got 20 seconds before we go to our half time break. 212 00:28:30,360 --> 00:28:37,360 So Roy, stay on the line, yes. And we'll want to give that information. Now you can buy the DVD and the book. 213 00:28:37,360 --> 00:28:43,360 And we're going to go to a very, very quick break. Right, Nina? And she's pushing all kinds of buttons. 214 00:28:43,360 --> 00:28:47,360 Five, four, three. You're listening to Veterans Radio. Don't go away. 215 00:28:47,360 --> 00:28:55,360 If you have a VA claim denied by the Board of Veterans Appeals, contact Legal Help for Veterans at 1-800-693-4800. 216 00:28:55,360 --> 00:29:21,360 They're experts in handling cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Their number again, 1-800-693-4800. 217 00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:43,360 Yeah, I like that. I was listening to that this morning and I said that's going to be so appropriate because it is a new beginning. 218 00:29:43,360 --> 00:29:50,360 That's from a CD called Renew. And it really does make you feel that way. And that's exactly what we're doing. 219 00:29:50,360 --> 00:30:04,360 We're renewing life. The story of Father Emil Capone. And on the line with me is Father John Hotzee, the vicar of the Archdiocese of Wichita. 220 00:30:04,360 --> 00:30:12,360 And Mr. Roy Winsall, who is a national award-winning reporter with the Wichita Eagle. 221 00:30:12,360 --> 00:30:22,360 I know that when you were doing your research for the book and for the DVD, you did meet with those that were right there with Father Capone. 222 00:30:22,360 --> 00:30:28,360 And what did you very briefly tell us what that was like to meet with these people? 223 00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:43,360 Well, I had a lot of experience in the past interviewing veterans of all the wars back to World War II. And they're very tough. Soldiers usually don't want to talk very much about these things. 224 00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:54,360 They don't want to talk about the terrible things as much because they just don't think anybody will get it. They've never had to do it. 225 00:30:54,360 --> 00:31:01,360 And some of them are traumatized in one way or another and they just don't want to go there. So they just try to go on with their lives. 226 00:31:01,360 --> 00:31:08,360 But in this case, they had gone through terrible things, these guys. And they didn't really want to talk about themselves. 227 00:31:08,360 --> 00:31:23,360 They did really vehemently want to talk about him because they walked out of that camp in 1953 determined to try to get somebody's attention and make this ceremony that's finally going to happen this coming week to make it happen. 228 00:31:23,360 --> 00:31:33,360 And it took them 60 years. They were a little irritated with that. But they did it. So it was very compelling to talk to these guys. 229 00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:41,360 Well, we have one of them on the air right now about standing by Mr. Bill Funches. 230 00:31:41,360 --> 00:31:59,360 Mr. William Bill Funches, who was with the 24th Infantry Division in Korea, he was one of the ones thrown right literally into the breach, the soldiers to stop the onslaught of the Republic of North Korea. 231 00:31:59,360 --> 00:32:12,360 And then the Chinese came in in November of 1950. And that was when Mr. Funches, along with thousands of other soldiers, airmen, etc., were captured. 232 00:32:12,360 --> 00:32:20,360 And Father Kapon was also in November of 1950. Bill Funches, welcome to Veterans Radio. 233 00:32:20,360 --> 00:32:22,360 Thank you. I'm glad to be here, sir. 234 00:32:22,360 --> 00:32:34,360 Well, we're glad to have you. And please tell us. Tell us, Father Kapon, there he is standing there. And you have a whole chance now to describe that. 235 00:32:34,360 --> 00:32:37,360 What was his stature? What was he like? 236 00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:54,360 Father Kapon was a great man. He always stood out in the crowd. And I recall the first time that I really saw him. We were on the march together, but I was wounded and I was the last one in the column. 237 00:32:54,360 --> 00:33:10,360 And so I did not meet him on the march, but sometime later in the camp, I saw a man melting snow. And I walked over to see what he was doing. And he introduced himself, his father, Ammo Kapon. 238 00:33:10,360 --> 00:33:19,360 And he asked me if I would like to have a drink of water. And I said, yes, sir, I have not had any water to drink since the day I was captured. 239 00:33:19,360 --> 00:33:35,360 And it's been three months. And so he gave me the first drink of water that I had after I was captured. But he was a great man. He was always taking risks and chances in order to help someone else. 240 00:33:35,360 --> 00:33:49,360 He would go out, he would scrounge things that we could use. He would scrounge food for us. He would attend to the wounds of the sick and the wounded. And he's a very caring individual. 241 00:33:49,360 --> 00:33:55,360 And I want to say again, he was perhaps the greatest man that I've ever met. 242 00:33:55,360 --> 00:34:01,360 Wow, that's really saying something. Tom, you're shaking your head after hearing something like that. 243 00:34:01,360 --> 00:34:21,360 It's very moving to hear stories of this man's goodness and how the simple expression of goodness, a drink of water, how that can make a sip of water, how that changes a man's life in a positive way, taking care of the wounded. 244 00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:34,360 And just looking and seeing that somebody is in need. So thank you for your testimony, sir. I mean, this is terrific to hear. And I'm sure that there was a very difficult time in your life, too. I'm absolutely positive of that. 245 00:34:34,360 --> 00:34:38,360 So yeah, I'd like to know more. I really would, you know. 246 00:34:38,360 --> 00:34:44,360 Well, Bill, go ahead and tell us a little bit more. Give us some more stories of what Camp 5. 247 00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:53,360 Well, at the time he gave me my drink of water, the Chinese and North Koreans did not realize I was an officer. 248 00:34:53,360 --> 00:35:09,360 And sometime later, they moved me into the office of Compound. And I observed Father Capon from time to time, slipping across the barbed wire fence at great risk to himself. 249 00:35:09,360 --> 00:35:16,360 And he would go over into the enlisted men's compound and take care of their needs. 250 00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:24,360 He would offer prayers not only to the Catholics, but to the non-Catholics, the Protestants, like myself. 251 00:35:24,360 --> 00:35:28,360 And we were very appreciative of that. 252 00:35:28,360 --> 00:35:45,360 Now, Father Capon was living in a separate room from me at first, but later on, the Chinese and the North Koreans apparently wanted to isolate Father Capon from the Catholics. 253 00:35:45,360 --> 00:35:51,360 So they threw him into the room in my shack. 254 00:35:51,360 --> 00:36:03,360 There was no place for Father Capon in the room, so I made everybody move over and I gave Father Capon the place that I was using on the floor. 255 00:36:03,360 --> 00:36:16,360 It was about 15 inches wide, and so I slept and spent my time lying on the floor beside Father Capon for the next five or six weeks. 256 00:36:16,360 --> 00:36:24,360 Now, when he came in, he had a blood clot, apparently on his leg, and he could not walk. 257 00:36:24,360 --> 00:36:37,360 And so I took it upon myself and sometimes with the help of other POWs to take care of Father Capon's daily needs. 258 00:36:37,360 --> 00:36:53,360 We were able to find in the rubble the top half of a destroyed pot-bellied stove made out of cast iron. 259 00:36:53,360 --> 00:37:02,360 Father Capon had showed us how to make these little pans using tin, so we made a little pan. 260 00:37:02,360 --> 00:37:09,360 We put it inside that pot-bellied stove and we used that for his toilet. 261 00:37:09,360 --> 00:37:16,360 He had trouble eating, so sometimes we had to spoon feed Father Capon. 262 00:37:16,360 --> 00:37:28,360 But various men would come into the room from time to time to speak to Father Capon or ask Father Capon to pray for them. 263 00:37:28,360 --> 00:37:32,360 And Father Capon always responded. 264 00:37:32,360 --> 00:37:44,360 It was not only the Catholics coming in, but it was also the non-Catholics coming in to consult with Father Capon. 265 00:37:44,360 --> 00:37:57,360 And I might point out that he was in my room for about five weeks, all of April it seems like, and maybe a week or two in May of 1951. 266 00:37:57,360 --> 00:38:04,360 And then one day the Chinese came in suddenly. 267 00:38:04,360 --> 00:38:13,360 They just burst in four or five or six of them and they said, we are taking Capon to the hospital. 268 00:38:13,360 --> 00:38:18,360 And those were the worst words that I could have possibly have heard. 269 00:38:18,360 --> 00:38:23,360 They referred to the building on top of the hill as the hospital. 270 00:38:23,360 --> 00:38:31,360 We called it the death house because whoever went into the death house very few came out. 271 00:38:31,360 --> 00:38:38,360 Mike Dow came out for one, but we knew what was going to happen. 272 00:38:38,360 --> 00:38:46,360 And we tried our best to prevent the Chinese from taking Father Capon out of my room. 273 00:38:46,360 --> 00:38:52,360 I begged them, I told them I would take care of them, but they wanted no part of that. 274 00:38:52,360 --> 00:39:08,360 The Catholics came in, they raised the ruckus with the Chinese, trying everything humanly possible to prevent them from taking them up to that building on top of the hill. 275 00:39:08,360 --> 00:39:26,360 But they took Father Capon anyway, some of the Catholics had the privilege of carrying him from my room up to the so-called hospital or what we call the death house. 276 00:39:26,360 --> 00:39:34,360 And he was up there for a week or two and finally we got word that Father Capon had died. 277 00:39:34,360 --> 00:39:46,360 And it hit us all Catholics, non-Catholics, just like a ton of bricks because we all had so much love and respect for him. 278 00:39:46,360 --> 00:39:56,360 It was a great loss to him and it's a loss that I have endured ever since I first met him back in 1951. 279 00:39:56,360 --> 00:39:59,360 He was a great man. 280 00:39:59,360 --> 00:40:14,360 Now you survived, you came back from Korea and in closing, how did that affect the rest of your life, that experience with Father Capon? 281 00:40:14,360 --> 00:40:32,360 Well, I was determined to live a ratuous and a religious type of life. I wanted to respect my fellow man, I wanted to help my fellow man just as much as I possibly could. 282 00:40:32,360 --> 00:40:53,360 But he gave me, taught me a great deal about compassion and I'm trying to understand other people, other people's viewpoints and it encouraged me to try to help other people any way that I could. 283 00:40:53,360 --> 00:41:07,360 Well, I know that there's something that you and I talked about the other day that you're getting an opportunity now to tell our veteran audience and our non-veteran audience to recite the 23rd Psalm. 284 00:41:07,360 --> 00:41:16,360 And in closing for your segment, would you please do that Bill, the one that you did that you recited so well on the DVD. 285 00:41:16,360 --> 00:41:19,360 Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Bill Funchus. 286 00:41:19,360 --> 00:41:26,360 I was in a room at one occasion with 11 other seriously wounded POWs. 287 00:41:26,360 --> 00:41:32,360 At the time I was captured, I hid the little pocket Bible that I had. 288 00:41:32,360 --> 00:41:47,360 And after we got to the first temporary POW camp, I took the Bible out of my pocket and each day for 15 or 20 minutes each day I would read from the Bible. 289 00:41:47,360 --> 00:41:52,360 And I always would start off by reading the 23rd Psalm. 290 00:41:52,360 --> 00:42:12,360 And the reason I use the 23rd Psalm is because when I was growing up in South Carolina, my mother always told me in times of trouble, you should read the 23rd Psalm because it will give you peace and comfort. 291 00:42:12,360 --> 00:42:19,360 And anyway, I asked the men one day after I had the Bible, would you like for me to read? 292 00:42:19,360 --> 00:42:21,360 And they said, yes, please read. 293 00:42:21,360 --> 00:42:30,360 And I read to them, started off with the 23rd Psalm, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 294 00:42:30,360 --> 00:42:33,360 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. 295 00:42:33,360 --> 00:42:37,360 He leadeth me beside the still waters. 296 00:42:37,360 --> 00:42:40,360 He restores my soul. 297 00:42:40,360 --> 00:42:45,360 He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake. 298 00:42:45,360 --> 00:42:55,360 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. 299 00:42:55,360 --> 00:42:59,360 Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. 300 00:42:59,360 --> 00:43:05,360 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. 301 00:43:05,360 --> 00:43:08,360 Thou anointest my head with oil. 302 00:43:08,360 --> 00:43:11,360 My cup runneth over. 303 00:43:11,360 --> 00:43:22,360 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. 304 00:43:22,360 --> 00:43:23,360 Thank you, sir. 305 00:43:23,360 --> 00:43:29,360 Thank you very much, Bill, and God bless you, and you have a great day. 306 00:43:29,360 --> 00:43:33,360 And thank you so much, Bob, for having me a part of this program. 307 00:43:33,360 --> 00:43:38,360 Are you a veteran or a military spouse interested in starting or growing an existing business? 308 00:43:38,360 --> 00:43:42,360 Then you want to connect with VetBiz Central, Michigan's only veteran business resource center, 309 00:43:42,360 --> 00:43:48,360 providing free one-on-one business counseling services, including research plans and preparing veterans to be lender-ready. 310 00:43:48,360 --> 00:43:53,360 If you're in business, VetBiz Central offers comprehensive strategic marketing strategies to help you connect to corporations. 311 00:43:53,360 --> 00:44:00,360 They are one of 20 centers nationwide devoted to veteran business development through the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Veteran Business Development. 312 00:44:00,360 --> 00:44:06,360 That's helping vets. Visit their website at vetbizcentral.org or call 810-767-VETS. 313 00:44:06,360 --> 00:44:08,360 Military veterans touch everyone's life. 314 00:44:08,360 --> 00:44:12,360 I'm guessing right now you're thinking of a veteran, a close friend, relative. 315 00:44:12,360 --> 00:44:13,360 Maybe it's you. 316 00:44:13,360 --> 00:44:18,360 Even the toughest of us sometimes need help, but don't know where to turn for support. 317 00:44:18,360 --> 00:44:20,360 You don't need special training to help a veteran in your life. 318 00:44:20,360 --> 00:44:23,360 Even small actions can make a world of difference. 319 00:44:23,360 --> 00:44:30,360 If you know a veteran in crisis, please call the Veterans Crisis Line 800-273-8255. 320 00:44:30,360 --> 00:44:33,360 800-273-8255. 321 00:44:33,360 --> 00:44:55,360 A message from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. 322 00:45:04,360 --> 00:45:07,360 Oh, we're back. 323 00:45:07,360 --> 00:45:10,360 And after that, that was really something. 324 00:45:10,360 --> 00:45:12,360 What do you think of that, Tom? 325 00:45:12,360 --> 00:45:16,360 Well, as a guy who's been in radio for a long time, that was good radio. 326 00:45:16,360 --> 00:45:21,360 That was good radio because this man told us a story. 327 00:45:21,360 --> 00:45:22,360 He was right there. 328 00:45:22,360 --> 00:45:23,360 He was right there. 329 00:45:23,360 --> 00:45:24,360 We followed him. 330 00:45:24,360 --> 00:45:28,360 We said on every word that he said, because it was true. 331 00:45:28,360 --> 00:45:29,360 He was so articulate. 332 00:45:29,360 --> 00:45:32,360 It was like it happened yesterday. 333 00:45:32,360 --> 00:45:36,360 In his mind, in the back worlds of his mind. 334 00:45:36,360 --> 00:45:37,360 And there it was. 335 00:45:37,360 --> 00:45:41,360 And also, for him to end in prayer, I thought was really quite beautiful. 336 00:45:41,360 --> 00:45:43,360 And I'm glad that you asked him to do that, too, Bob. 337 00:45:43,360 --> 00:45:45,360 I think that was really great. 338 00:45:45,360 --> 00:45:51,360 Father Capone has had an impact that is stretching even now. 339 00:45:51,360 --> 00:45:53,360 I mean, how many people are hearing us right now? 340 00:45:53,360 --> 00:45:54,360 We don't know. 341 00:45:54,360 --> 00:46:01,360 Okay, but his saintliness, this goodness that he had in his life, 342 00:46:01,360 --> 00:46:03,360 was given to these men. 343 00:46:03,360 --> 00:46:06,360 And these men are now changed for that. 344 00:46:06,360 --> 00:46:11,360 And now, because of this show that we're doing, other people can hear it. 345 00:46:11,360 --> 00:46:13,360 And maybe their lives will be changed as well. 346 00:46:13,360 --> 00:46:17,360 And I thought it was beautiful that he decided to go and do the 23rd Psalm, 347 00:46:17,360 --> 00:46:21,360 because it's so beautiful, so sweet, and so true. 348 00:46:21,360 --> 00:46:25,360 And it brings us into the heart of God's love. 349 00:46:25,360 --> 00:46:27,360 So I just thought this was very, very good radio. 350 00:46:27,360 --> 00:46:29,360 And I'm glad you asked me that question. 351 00:46:29,360 --> 00:46:33,360 And the 23rd Psalm was something he recited every day. 352 00:46:33,360 --> 00:46:34,360 I'm sure he did. 353 00:46:34,360 --> 00:46:37,360 Every day at his mother's set as a time of trouble. 354 00:46:37,360 --> 00:46:38,360 Dale, you've been... 355 00:46:38,360 --> 00:46:44,360 I was taken aback by that, because I timed trip back. 356 00:46:44,360 --> 00:46:49,360 My sister had given me a small Bible to take to Vietnam with me. 357 00:46:49,360 --> 00:46:53,360 And the 23rd Psalm had always been important in our family. 358 00:46:53,360 --> 00:46:58,360 And periodically, you don't know me as being very spiritual, I don't think. 359 00:46:58,360 --> 00:47:02,360 But periodically, while I was there, I would pull out that little Bible 360 00:47:02,360 --> 00:47:08,360 and read the 23rd Psalm, because it is the most powerful, I think, Psalm that's in the Bible. 361 00:47:08,360 --> 00:47:11,360 And there are people that would read that. 362 00:47:11,360 --> 00:47:14,360 There are people that would change words and so on and so forth. 363 00:47:14,360 --> 00:47:19,360 But the message was always in the same that you were protected by something. 364 00:47:19,360 --> 00:47:25,360 Whether you believed or not, you always had this sensation that something was watching over you, 365 00:47:25,360 --> 00:47:29,360 that you were protected on that particular time. 366 00:47:29,360 --> 00:47:33,360 And I had to pull away from the microphone while he was reading that. 367 00:47:33,360 --> 00:47:37,360 And again, thinking again, this man is probably in his 80s at least. 368 00:47:37,360 --> 00:47:38,360 Middle 80s, yes. 369 00:47:38,360 --> 00:47:44,360 And all of those men who carry this story with them from Father Coupan, 370 00:47:44,360 --> 00:47:46,360 and the impact that this man had on... 371 00:47:46,360 --> 00:47:47,360 60 years later. 372 00:47:47,360 --> 00:47:48,360 I know. 373 00:47:48,360 --> 00:47:53,360 We were talking about when he was describing the room, we've had other Korean POWs on. 374 00:47:53,360 --> 00:47:57,360 And they described the same thing, that they're in a room. 375 00:47:57,360 --> 00:47:59,360 Whatever the size of the room is, each of you had about a foot. 376 00:47:59,360 --> 00:48:00,360 That was it. 377 00:48:00,360 --> 00:48:06,360 They would cram so many of you in there that you couldn't even roll over without bumping into the other person. 378 00:48:06,360 --> 00:48:12,360 You all kind of slept right next to each other, like you were best friends. 379 00:48:12,360 --> 00:48:20,360 And that anytime that the guards would come in and take you to the death room or the death building... 380 00:48:20,360 --> 00:48:21,360 The hospital. 381 00:48:21,360 --> 00:48:26,360 The hospital is that metaphor for, that's it, you're done. 382 00:48:26,360 --> 00:48:27,360 They didn't come back. 383 00:48:27,360 --> 00:48:30,360 A lot of times they didn't even reach the hospital. 384 00:48:30,360 --> 00:48:32,360 And the stories and the people that we've talked to. 385 00:48:32,360 --> 00:48:40,360 So can you imagine that they're taking this spiritual leader away from them, and they knew what was happening? 386 00:48:40,360 --> 00:48:42,360 And I'm sorry. 387 00:48:42,360 --> 00:48:44,360 People have got to read this. 388 00:48:44,360 --> 00:48:49,360 If you can ever get ahold of this thing about Father Coupan by Mike Dao, who he mentioned. 389 00:48:49,360 --> 00:48:57,360 He talks about how he had a little gold cup that he would hold for the bread for the communion. 390 00:48:57,360 --> 00:49:03,360 And that was their most prized possession that he left to them. 391 00:49:03,360 --> 00:49:05,360 And that they would continue on. 392 00:49:05,360 --> 00:49:10,360 And as he was being taken out on a litter, he told these men in this room, he says, 393 00:49:10,360 --> 00:49:11,360 Keep going. 394 00:49:11,360 --> 00:49:12,360 Keep this going. 395 00:49:12,360 --> 00:49:15,360 Even though I'm gone, you can do this. 396 00:49:15,360 --> 00:49:17,360 And that meant survival. 397 00:49:17,360 --> 00:49:18,360 It did. 398 00:49:18,360 --> 00:49:25,360 Because all the physical discomfort and stress, you can get through that. 399 00:49:25,360 --> 00:49:30,360 You can get through that if your mind is with God and spiritually. 400 00:49:30,360 --> 00:49:34,360 Father Hatzi, I know you've had a chance to listen to all this. 401 00:49:34,360 --> 00:49:36,360 We've only got a few minutes left. 402 00:49:36,360 --> 00:49:38,360 I'd like you to comment. 403 00:49:38,360 --> 00:49:42,360 And where does Father Coupan go from receiving the Medal of Honor? 404 00:49:42,360 --> 00:49:46,360 And what does the future lie for Father Coupan? 405 00:49:46,360 --> 00:49:49,360 Well, I think a final comment. 406 00:49:49,360 --> 00:49:55,360 When we look at what Father Coupan did, I mean, the acts that he did were very simple acts. 407 00:49:55,360 --> 00:50:01,360 I mean, helping, feeding those that were hungry, giving clothes to those trying to provide clean water. 408 00:50:01,360 --> 00:50:05,360 But Father Coupan was able to do it under extraordinary circumstances. 409 00:50:05,360 --> 00:50:12,360 And just lately, I've been thinking about what it would be like to be in that prison camp and the fellow prisoners and stuff. 410 00:50:12,360 --> 00:50:19,360 And I think this is kind of what sets me apart, and I think probably most of us apart from the greatness of Father Coupan. 411 00:50:19,360 --> 00:50:26,360 I'm sitting here thinking, when I get up and I'm struggling or when there's a bad period of time, I get up and I think, well, how am I going to survive this day? 412 00:50:26,360 --> 00:50:31,360 And I think probably in the prison camp, many men had that same thought, how am I going to survive during this day? 413 00:50:31,360 --> 00:50:33,360 Or how am I going to live through this day? 414 00:50:33,360 --> 00:50:40,360 I think Father Coupan got up in the morning and thought, how am I going to help others survive this day? 415 00:50:40,360 --> 00:50:46,360 And I think that's probably what sets him apart from, I know it certainly be, but I think probably from most of us. 416 00:50:46,360 --> 00:50:52,360 I mean, while most of us would be thinking about ourselves, Father Coupan thought about others and how he could help others. 417 00:50:52,360 --> 00:50:56,360 And ultimately, I mean, he gave his very life in that service. 418 00:50:56,360 --> 00:51:09,360 In terms of his continuing on in the process after the Medal of Honor, certainly the Medal of Honor will bring attention to his cause for sainthood. 419 00:51:09,360 --> 00:51:20,360 One of the things that the Congregation for Saints over in Rome looks for in this decision of naming somebody a saint is the cult. 420 00:51:20,360 --> 00:51:30,360 And I mean a cult in a good way, a cult in that people recognize the goodness of this man and they recognize the fact that he is somebody who led a life of exemplary service. 421 00:51:30,360 --> 00:51:40,360 So that we strive to follow the example that they set, ultimately the saints or ones that follow the example of Christ and set that example of Christ for others. 422 00:51:40,360 --> 00:51:47,360 So ultimately, when we look at the lives of the saints, they are leading us to Christ or leading us to follow the example of Christ. 423 00:51:47,360 --> 00:51:58,360 So I think certainly that his being awarded the Medal of Honor will bring attention to him and have people realize that yes, it would be a good idea to follow his example, 424 00:51:58,360 --> 00:52:08,360 to try to instill hope in others, to try to bring the love that others have for them or the love that God has for us and share that love with others, 425 00:52:08,360 --> 00:52:12,360 which is certainly what Father Capon did throughout his entire life. 426 00:52:12,360 --> 00:52:19,360 In terms of the process for sainthood, one of the, well, we have all of the documents over in Rome, 427 00:52:19,360 --> 00:52:26,360 so they are considering this document in Rome in the process of sainthood for his to be ultimately named a saint. 428 00:52:26,360 --> 00:52:31,360 We will have to prove that there were certain miracles worked through his intercession, 429 00:52:31,360 --> 00:52:37,360 meaning that people prayed to Father Capon, asking Father Capon to pray for their needs also. 430 00:52:37,360 --> 00:52:49,360 We're currently working on a couple of ledged miracles to see if we can prove that those healings were miraculous events or events that had no scientific reason for happening. 431 00:52:49,360 --> 00:52:52,360 We're working on, like I say, proving two of those. 432 00:52:52,360 --> 00:52:54,360 Hopefully we'll be done with those by this summer. 433 00:52:54,360 --> 00:53:02,360 We'll have that information over in Rome also, and hopefully that will be an impetus for the sub-movement on his cause for sainthood also. 434 00:53:02,360 --> 00:53:04,360 And we'll also be covering that on Veterans Radio. 435 00:53:04,360 --> 00:53:06,360 Thank you very much, Father Hotzi. 436 00:53:06,360 --> 00:53:09,360 I know you've got a busy day today there in Wichita. 437 00:53:09,360 --> 00:53:12,360 God bless, and we will be talking to you shortly. 438 00:53:12,360 --> 00:53:14,360 Thank you for having me. 439 00:53:14,360 --> 00:53:16,360 Okay, Roy, you're there. 440 00:53:16,360 --> 00:53:18,360 We've got about a minute and a half to give you. 441 00:53:18,360 --> 00:53:20,360 How about some last thoughts? 442 00:53:20,360 --> 00:53:31,360 Well, what I got out of a couple of years of talking to his friends is a very unusual man. 443 00:53:31,360 --> 00:53:38,360 I think some of the descriptions that you hear about him are tended to tip over into cliches. 444 00:53:38,360 --> 00:53:40,360 Yes, he was good. 445 00:53:40,360 --> 00:53:41,360 Yes, he was holy. 446 00:53:41,360 --> 00:53:53,360 But I think he put on a clinic for a little less than a year in Korea about not only how to lead, but how to witness Christianity. 447 00:53:53,360 --> 00:53:57,360 And what I mean by that is he just didn't talk about it very much. 448 00:53:57,360 --> 00:53:59,360 He didn't say much to anybody. 449 00:53:59,360 --> 00:54:02,360 I mean, that was kind of his natural personality anyway. 450 00:54:02,360 --> 00:54:10,360 But he didn't go around judging people or jabbing fingers and telling people that they need to go to mass or else. 451 00:54:10,360 --> 00:54:20,360 His way of witnessing Christianity and leadership was if he saw somebody digging a latrine, he went over and started digging with him. 452 00:54:20,360 --> 00:54:26,360 If the guy asked him, well, who are you, he wouldn't necessarily say I'm Chaplain or Father Cappan. 453 00:54:26,360 --> 00:54:27,360 He would say I'm Cappan. 454 00:54:27,360 --> 00:54:29,360 How you doing? 455 00:54:29,360 --> 00:54:34,360 He ran across the battlefields of many battles rescuing the wounded. 456 00:54:34,360 --> 00:54:41,360 People saw him do these things and it kind of snuck up on them that this guy is a Chaplain. 457 00:54:41,360 --> 00:54:43,360 He didn't always evoke that. 458 00:54:43,360 --> 00:54:55,360 And so when things really fell apart and they needed a leader, they would do what he asked where they wouldn't necessarily do what their officers ordered them to do. 459 00:54:55,360 --> 00:55:02,360 It was just amazing how he rallied hundreds of people to do things without saying very much at all. 460 00:55:02,360 --> 00:55:12,360 He led and witnessed by example and that's why you see just this burning intensity among the people who are still alive who knew him. 461 00:55:12,360 --> 00:55:17,360 They just saw this and were just awestruck by it. 462 00:55:17,360 --> 00:55:18,360 They still are. 463 00:55:18,360 --> 00:55:20,360 Well said, Roy. 464 00:55:20,360 --> 00:55:21,360 Thank you very much. 465 00:55:21,360 --> 00:55:27,360 Real quick, give us how our listeners can get a copy of the miracle of Father Cappan. 466 00:55:27,360 --> 00:55:33,360 Kansas.com slash Cappan and you'll see an entry. 467 00:55:33,360 --> 00:55:36,360 You'll see this giant series that I did in 09. 468 00:55:36,360 --> 00:55:39,360 Travis Heim and I did in 09. 469 00:55:39,360 --> 00:55:47,360 The series is now a book that's got a lot more information than it, but that's how you can order it and you can see all the stories that we've done about this man. 470 00:55:47,360 --> 00:55:49,360 It's well worth reading. 471 00:55:49,360 --> 00:55:52,360 Thank you very much for being on the program, Roy. 472 00:55:52,360 --> 00:55:53,360 Thank you, Bob. 473 00:55:53,360 --> 00:55:55,360 You have a blessed day. 474 00:55:55,360 --> 00:55:59,360 Gentlemen, Tom, Dale. 475 00:55:59,360 --> 00:56:12,360 Well, I think it's just a great story and I wanted to kind of jump in and say there are chaplains from all the religions of the world that are in the military and they all do such an amazing job. 476 00:56:12,360 --> 00:56:14,360 They throw caution to the wind. 477 00:56:14,360 --> 00:56:16,360 They go out to minister to the wounded. 478 00:56:16,360 --> 00:56:19,360 And they get wounded and they get killed. 479 00:56:19,360 --> 00:56:25,360 And it doesn't make any difference what religion you are. They are there. They give you that peace that you need. 480 00:56:25,360 --> 00:56:27,360 Tom, last word. 481 00:56:27,360 --> 00:56:33,360 I just want to thank you for having me here today to witness and to take part in this discussion. It was beautiful. 482 00:56:33,360 --> 00:56:34,360 It really was. 483 00:56:34,360 --> 00:56:36,360 And you're going to be having a fundraiser very shortly. 484 00:56:36,360 --> 00:56:37,360 Next week. 485 00:56:37,360 --> 00:56:38,360 That's cool. 486 00:56:38,360 --> 00:56:40,360 Well, this is it, folks. 487 00:56:40,360 --> 00:56:45,360 Bob Gould wrapping up another wonderful program right here at Veterans Radio. 488 00:56:45,360 --> 00:57:00,360 We are dismissed.