1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:17,480 All across America and around the world, this is Veterans Radio. 2 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:19,400 And welcome to Veterans Radio. 3 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:23,440 I am Jim Fausone with veteransradio.org. 4 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:27,960 We're recording today from the Legal Help for Veterans Studio in Northville, Michigan. 5 00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:36,680 Legal Help for Veterans is a Veterans Disability Law firm, and you can reach us at 800-69-34800. 6 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:40,480 We have a really interesting topic for our interview today. 7 00:00:40,480 --> 00:00:44,560 We're pleased to have with us George J. Phillips. 8 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:49,800 George is not only a Marine and currently the Chief Operating Officer of the American 9 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:55,400 Defense International, which is located in Washington, D.C. 10 00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:59,000 Some of you may recognize the twang in his voice when we start talking, and you'll know 11 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:00,880 he's from Brooklyn, New York. 12 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:02,360 George, welcome to Veterans Radio. 13 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:03,360 All right. 14 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:04,920 Thank you very much for inviting me on. 15 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:08,440 Well, you've been serving your country for a long time. 16 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:18,520 Why don't you give us a little thumbnail of your time in the Marine Corps and your post-service 17 00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:22,280 business activity, which has a long history now. 18 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:23,280 Okay. 19 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:34,560 So, in 1966 in June, I joined the Marine Corps, went to enlisted infantrymen, went to, like 20 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:42,440 everybody else, Paris Island, Camp Lejeune, and staging battalion at Camp Pendleton, 21 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:53,440 and went in country in December 1966 to Mike 35. 22 00:01:53,440 --> 00:02:02,880 And I went on plenty of operations, combat operations, and that's what brought me in 23 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:05,240 contact with Bobby Capodano. 24 00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:15,280 In August of 1967, he was assigned to our unit, and so I was with him the day that he 25 00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:16,280 was killed. 26 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:23,080 Well, our topic today really is just that, and that is to talk about Father Vincent Capodano, 27 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:33,320 who served both as a Catholic, Roman Catholic priest, and served as a Navy chaplain. 28 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:41,760 George, tell our veteran radio listeners a little bit about Father Capodano's background 29 00:02:41,760 --> 00:02:45,520 before that eventful day in September of 1967. 30 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:46,520 Sure. 31 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:56,960 Well, you know, Bio is basically, he was born on 13th February of 29th in Staten Island, 32 00:02:56,960 --> 00:02:58,960 New York. 33 00:02:58,960 --> 00:03:10,360 He attended St. Michael's Parish in Marinus Harbor there, and he was a devout Catholic, 34 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:12,000 devout Catholic family. 35 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:19,040 He attended Daily Mass all the way through his time in Fordham, went to grandma's school 36 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:27,760 there, Curtis High School, 43 to 47, and then attended Fordham University. 37 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:31,720 It was, Wiley was at Fordham University. 38 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:36,000 Coming from Staten Island, you know, back in those days, there was no Barizzano. 39 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:38,880 You took the ferries. 40 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:43,560 So he would ride the ferry over, and there was always, as there are now, free booklets 41 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:49,880 on there to read, and there was a booklet on there called Fields afar, which was published 42 00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:53,080 by the Marion Old Missionaries. 43 00:03:53,080 --> 00:04:00,920 And it discussed the ongoing work of the Marion Olds and basically current events, what they 44 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:07,680 were doing in China, what they were doing in other places around the world. 45 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:17,000 And that's when Father Vincent began to discern that he had a vocation. 46 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:25,120 He spent two years there at Fordham, and then he was accepted into Mary Know. 47 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:34,080 On 14 June, 1958, he was ordained by Francis Cardinal Spellman. 48 00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:39,840 You know, nine years later, Francis Cardinal Spellman would be present at his funeral, 49 00:04:39,840 --> 00:04:43,280 which is a little ironic. 50 00:04:43,280 --> 00:04:50,560 And Father Cardinal's assignments took him out of the country to Taiwan and Hong Kong, 51 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:51,560 I guess. 52 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:52,560 Yeah, he did. 53 00:04:52,560 --> 00:05:01,800 After he was ordained, he went to Taiwan, and he served the Hockow people, which were 54 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:12,480 in northern Taiwan, very remote, and his job there was to train young men to prepare for 55 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:17,000 the national tests so that they could move on to higher education. 56 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:20,080 I'll be quite honest. 57 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:21,080 He was there. 58 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:27,160 You know, like all of us, there's things we do well, things we do poorly. 59 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:29,600 He had trouble with language. 60 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:37,320 And the Hockow language is, I'm told, one of the most difficult in the world. 61 00:05:37,320 --> 00:05:46,680 But he worked at it for four years, but eventually his superior decided he couldn't. 62 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:55,200 He was very frustrated because he knew his language inabilities were affecting the quality 63 00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:57,960 of the work that he wanted to do. 64 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:04,720 His superiors felt the same way and moved him to Hong Kong. 65 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:06,640 But Father Cardinal didn't want to go. 66 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:09,520 He wanted to stay with the Hockow people and continue to work. 67 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:14,160 I mean, they have a chapel up there dedicated to him as we do today. 68 00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:16,920 Well, it's interesting. 69 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:21,760 He gets these assignments to the Far East, if you will. 70 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:30,400 And then in December of 1965, gets commissioned as a lieutenant in the Navy, Chaplain Corps. 71 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:39,400 What do we know of the transition for him to say, jeez, I think I want to become a military 72 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:40,400 chaplain? 73 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:45,680 Well, when they moved him to Hong Kong, where pretty much everybody to this day speaks 74 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:51,760 English, he was not happy. 75 00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:57,640 And the war in Vietnam was beginning to really spin up. 76 00:06:57,640 --> 00:07:05,280 Only for the Marine Corps in May of 1965, they landed in Vietnam for the first time. 77 00:07:05,280 --> 00:07:08,600 And things began to heat up almost immediately. 78 00:07:08,600 --> 00:07:13,680 And Father wasn't happy where he was. 79 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:23,160 And he thought that right now, at that point in time, the place for him was to serve as 80 00:07:23,160 --> 00:07:28,840 a Navy chaplain with the Marines in Vietnam. 81 00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:31,760 Was there a family background of military service? 82 00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:38,400 George, and listeners, were talking to George Phillips, a Marine who served with Father 83 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:41,600 Vincent Capodano in Vietnam. 84 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:46,720 And oftentimes, George, when we're talking to people on Veterans Radio, their military 85 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:51,200 service is sort of an extension of a family affair. 86 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:55,480 So I'm wondering if there was something like that in his background? 87 00:07:55,480 --> 00:08:04,480 In Staten Island, especially Italians and all of the denominations, but back in those 88 00:08:04,480 --> 00:08:10,840 years, up through the mid-60s, it was kind of expected that everybody would, remember 89 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:15,640 the draft was there, and everybody would partake. 90 00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:25,880 And he was young, he had World War I veterans there, and then later on, Korean veterans. 91 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:33,040 I believe his brother, Jim, his oldest brother, who died about 18 months ago, two years ago, 92 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:37,040 he was a veteran. 93 00:08:37,040 --> 00:08:47,040 And so he, growing up, would, without a doubt, have been surrounded with families, with the 94 00:08:47,040 --> 00:08:50,680 fathers in particular being veterans. 95 00:08:50,680 --> 00:08:59,000 And there's also a tremendous sense back then, and back now, even today for a lot of people, 96 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:02,760 a great sense of loyalty to the country and the need to contribute. 97 00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:11,720 I mean, if you become a marionole missionary, and going to places like Taiwan and the other 98 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:15,560 places that went all around the world, I mean, they were losing missionaries to martyrdom 99 00:09:15,560 --> 00:09:21,520 over there, you know, several times a year. 100 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:29,800 So I think this is dedication to the values that many of us have, and a loyalty to the 101 00:09:29,800 --> 00:09:39,320 country and a loyalty to God and his faith that first made him a priest and ultimately 102 00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:47,040 made him come to understand that God's place for him was in Vietnam, not Hong Kong. 103 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:52,720 And George, can you tell us a little bit about Father Vincent Campadano, maybe when you first 104 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:55,480 met him when he first got to the unit? 105 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:59,680 Well, let me give you just a little prelude to that, okay? 106 00:09:59,680 --> 00:10:10,920 The, when he went in country in 65, you know, when he was commissioned, he went in country 107 00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:20,280 in April 66, Holy Week, and Father Campadano was in there more than six months, and we 108 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:26,760 started hearing about this priest they called the Grand Padre. 109 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:36,200 You know, it was not, well, one, it was not policy, and two, you rarely saw chaplains 110 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:39,640 going out on patrol. 111 00:10:39,640 --> 00:10:46,160 Usually they stayed in the headquarters, which is where the policy said they should be. 112 00:10:46,160 --> 00:10:50,000 But we started hearing stories, you know, when you would, all the units would go say 113 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:59,160 Da Nang for a three-day R&R, and so you would sit around on Hill 327 and you'd meet people, 114 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:04,160 Marines from all over the, you know, Vietnam. 115 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:09,640 And so you sit and talk, and this, this father, that's when I first heard of Father Campadano. 116 00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:15,200 And then Starrs and Stripes published a few articles on him. 117 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:25,080 So by the time he came to us in August of 67, everybody, especially the Catholics, had 118 00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:28,640 heard of the Grand Padre. 119 00:11:28,640 --> 00:11:41,200 And I first met him going to Mass, and then he would stay and, you know, talk to folks. 120 00:11:41,200 --> 00:11:49,240 I was, I talked to him probably on six or eight occasions, Mass several times, confession. 121 00:11:49,240 --> 00:11:51,240 Although confession over there was great. 122 00:11:51,240 --> 00:11:54,080 They didn't have a lot of time, so it was all general absolution. 123 00:11:54,080 --> 00:11:55,080 Clear everything up. 124 00:11:55,080 --> 00:12:01,800 Yeah, I mean, you get a couple hundred guys in ten seconds, you know. 125 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:08,400 So for our listeners who may be a little younger than you are and younger than I am, talk a 126 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:16,120 little bit about his, this name, the gun Padre that was put on. 127 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:23,360 Yeah, the Marine Infantry guys are called grunts primarily because they walk every place, 128 00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:26,240 which today they tend to ride more. 129 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:32,080 But you know, they're the kind of the dogs of war for the Marine Corps, and everybody 130 00:12:32,080 --> 00:12:42,160 else is in a supporting role, artillery, fixed wing, helicopters, amtrakts, all the other 131 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:48,520 branches of the Marine Corps and all the other different jobs in the Marine Corps basically 132 00:12:48,520 --> 00:12:52,440 support the Marine infantry, the Marine riflemen. 133 00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:57,560 And so for a hundred years they've been called grunts. 134 00:12:57,560 --> 00:13:07,480 So when he started doing what the infantrymen do, which is go on patrol, get in firefights, 135 00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:14,000 go into, you know, Carmsway, that's when he became the grunt Padre, because he was no 136 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:17,880 longer just another chaplain. 137 00:13:17,880 --> 00:13:25,200 And in that going out on patrol and getting in firefights, he's not carrying a weapon 138 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:27,040 in this, is he? 139 00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:28,040 Probably not. 140 00:13:28,040 --> 00:13:33,640 You know, he didn't like them, you know, the thing with the chaplains and even some 141 00:13:33,640 --> 00:13:38,960 of the corpsmen, the policy would change where you have to carry one, you don't have to carry 142 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:39,960 one. 143 00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:44,840 I don't think I ever saw him carry a pistol. 144 00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:47,720 You know, he would never carry a rifle. 145 00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:55,160 But the, never really carried a pistol that I can recall. 146 00:13:55,160 --> 00:13:56,680 That doesn't mean he didn't. 147 00:13:56,680 --> 00:13:58,760 And he was a combat guy. 148 00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:04,960 I mean, when he started out in 7th Marines before he came to 5th Marines, and he got 149 00:14:04,960 --> 00:14:11,360 a blonde start with the combat V, you know, I don't think I've ever seen one of those 150 00:14:11,360 --> 00:14:13,960 on a chaplain. 151 00:14:13,960 --> 00:14:17,680 So he's in country for about a year and a half. 152 00:14:17,680 --> 00:14:18,680 Right. 153 00:14:18,680 --> 00:14:21,520 And then he extends. 154 00:14:21,520 --> 00:14:26,280 Tell us what you know of that period for him in country. 155 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:38,520 He was in 7th Marines, 1-7, and went on, we were all up north, 1-7, 3-5, and we actually 156 00:14:38,520 --> 00:14:40,280 went on some ops together. 157 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:48,080 You know, we have different operations, you know, Union 1, Union 2, DeSoto, you know, 158 00:14:48,080 --> 00:14:51,520 all the names are in history books. 159 00:14:51,520 --> 00:15:01,680 But 1-7 was a unit that kind of like Mike 3-5, always getting in trouble. 160 00:15:01,680 --> 00:15:04,840 And he was right there in the middle of it. 161 00:15:04,840 --> 00:15:11,960 Towards the end of his first year, which was typical of, you know, anybody who was going 162 00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:20,560 to extend, they would put them on 30 days leave. 163 00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:27,720 And he came back to the states, met with his family, the guild, we have a lot of his writings 164 00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:31,600 and testimony to people who talked to him at that time. 165 00:15:31,600 --> 00:15:37,760 And it was very clear to all those folks how comfortable he was at this point in his life 166 00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:40,400 and how happy he was to be doing this mission. 167 00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:48,600 But for then he comes back into Vietnam and he goes to first medical battalion, which is, 168 00:15:48,600 --> 00:15:58,880 and other than in the field, that was the triage facility and also, you know, some small 169 00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:00,480 hospital. 170 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:06,240 But if people were bad, they got sent either to the hospital ships or onto other Japan or 171 00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:09,160 Okinawa for treatment. 172 00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:15,480 And he was there, you know, working with the Marines and sailors that were there. 173 00:16:15,480 --> 00:16:21,000 A lot of corpsmen assigned to hospitals and he worked very closely with the corpsmen. 174 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:28,760 And then came a point in time when he was actually August of 67 when he was transferred 175 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:32,200 to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines. 176 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:40,600 And about a month later on September 4th of 1967, while Operation Swift is ongoing and 177 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:44,440 why don't you walk us through what happens that day? 178 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:50,800 It actually starts on September 3rd. 179 00:16:50,800 --> 00:16:55,040 Back here in the U.S., it was Labor Day weekend. 180 00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:59,760 We didn't really celebrate those things in Vietnam. 181 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:11,880 But 1-5, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, Alpha Company, was out on patrol and they got into 182 00:17:11,880 --> 00:17:15,760 a very heavy firefight. 183 00:17:15,760 --> 00:17:19,840 A lot of injuries, a lot of people killed. 184 00:17:19,840 --> 00:17:31,280 And so as the firefight continued through the night, it became clear to the command 185 00:17:31,280 --> 00:17:40,800 elements that this was more than just a briefing encounter with, you know, Vietnam. 186 00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:46,280 But these were probably NVA regulars. 187 00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:54,520 So Mike 3-5 that day was what we used to call Sparrowhawk. 188 00:17:54,520 --> 00:17:56,440 Actually I think they still use the term. 189 00:17:56,440 --> 00:18:00,920 Sparrowhawk is just a unit that has to be ready to go within four hours in case somebody 190 00:18:00,920 --> 00:18:02,920 gets in trouble. 191 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:10,640 Well, at midnight, Alpha Company, there was very little left of it. 192 00:18:10,640 --> 00:18:12,520 And so they decided. 193 00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:14,800 And now they knew they were NVA. 194 00:18:14,800 --> 00:18:17,640 So anyway, so we get ready to go. 195 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:25,000 Father Capodano goes up and gets all the briefings, just like the Company Commanders, Platoon 196 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:28,320 Commanders, Platoon Sergeant. 197 00:18:28,320 --> 00:18:36,760 And he gets all the briefings and he gets told by the Company Commander, JD Murray, 198 00:18:36,760 --> 00:18:40,520 don't be getting on any helicopters. 199 00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:43,800 And so he doesn't, you know, I'm sure JD would tell you the story. 200 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:51,800 He didn't say, he just kind of looked at them and said, I'll be where I have to be. 201 00:18:51,800 --> 00:19:03,000 And so as the night progressed, we got our marching orders about where to go and what 202 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:06,920 we were likely to see, which was not going to be good. 203 00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:09,120 So we go down to the LZ. 204 00:19:09,120 --> 00:19:13,040 And who's down in the LZ but Father Capodano? 205 00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:15,840 And he's got all his gear with him. 206 00:19:15,840 --> 00:19:18,480 But he had set it off to the side. 207 00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:22,400 You know, I saw him talk to him several times down in the LZ. 208 00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:26,560 He always had two things that he carried with him. 209 00:19:26,560 --> 00:19:27,800 Cigarettes. 210 00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:29,720 He was like a cigarette machine. 211 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:32,400 He smoked like a cigarette machine. 212 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:36,600 And he always had cigarettes for, I don't know, there was 10 or 50 people there, he 213 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:38,960 always had cigarettes for him. 214 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:46,400 He also had St. Christopher medals, which was St. Christopher was the, and still is, 215 00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:50,040 the protector of travelers. 216 00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:53,040 And he would hand the St. Christopher medals out. 217 00:19:53,040 --> 00:19:58,720 And he was doing that down at the LZ. 218 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:01,360 Eventually the helicopters come. 219 00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:09,240 And there are, there's a dozen stories that could go, but because we only have a limited 220 00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:11,760 amount of time. 221 00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:13,000 The helicopters come. 222 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:19,680 I was in first platoon, we go out, second platoon goes out, third platoon goes out. 223 00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:24,760 And you know, of course, who gets on the very last helicopter when there's nobody left in 224 00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:28,080 the LZ to tell him he can't go? 225 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:31,800 Is Father Capodano. 226 00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:34,960 So I'll jump forward now, several hours. 227 00:20:34,960 --> 00:20:40,720 We landed, they put us down about a thousand kilometers from where we needed to be. 228 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:46,720 So we, we all start, you know, what we call movement to contact. 229 00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:53,000 We come up over a, first platoon comes up over what we now call the knoll, which is 230 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:55,320 a small hill. 231 00:20:55,320 --> 00:20:59,400 And we're going down the front of it. 232 00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:06,720 And the point man yells back to, and I can tell you all the names, but my memory is sometimes 233 00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:09,280 not perfect. 234 00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:13,200 And says, I think I just saw a bush move. 235 00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:20,200 And so, and so, he yells back, well, if it moves again, shoot it. 236 00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:27,240 And about 30 seconds later, you hear about 10 rounds fired off. 237 00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:32,560 And, and then the whole world opened up. 238 00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:36,600 First and second platoon, we were out on the front slope. 239 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:42,400 First platoon had moved up on top and along the sides. 240 00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:50,880 And we were engaged not only with rifle fire, but with 7, 6, 2 machine guns, 50 cal machine 241 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:56,800 guns, mortars up to 120. 242 00:21:56,800 --> 00:21:58,840 This fight or fight went on for quite a while. 243 00:21:58,840 --> 00:22:04,480 This went on for, well, it went on through the night in varying degrees. 244 00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:10,640 And during this time, and I'm going to move this along because of time, as you say, Father 245 00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:18,120 Campadano's going among the wounded in the dying, giving last rights, giving counsel. 246 00:22:18,120 --> 00:22:25,200 And unfortunately, you know, finding himself being one of the folks who gets injured and 247 00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:26,440 ultimately killed. 248 00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:33,440 Yes, late in the afternoon after a day, you know, this started early afternoon. 249 00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:37,240 And as you said, Father Campadano was up and down the hill and I could tell you again for 250 00:22:37,240 --> 00:22:45,880 time I won't, but I'll just, so as it was getting dusk late in the afternoon, there 251 00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:52,680 was a corpsman treating a Marine about halfway down the hill. 252 00:22:52,680 --> 00:23:00,480 Father Campadano saw them and also saw a 50 cal machine gun moving up and being put 253 00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:02,000 in place. 254 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:08,080 So he went down, ran down the hill to try to get them back. 255 00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:18,600 When he couldn't, he threw his body over them and immediately took 26 50 cal shots. 256 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:25,760 He had already been wounded earlier that day twice and well, and you know, just took care 257 00:23:25,760 --> 00:23:27,260 of himself. 258 00:23:27,260 --> 00:23:30,920 His right arm didn't work. 259 00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:33,000 But he was killed then. 260 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:39,240 And listeners, this is a man who could have stayed in the safety of the company command 261 00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:51,640 post and in some regards was told to and refused medical aid through this firefight so that 262 00:23:51,640 --> 00:24:00,440 he could continue to serve as his Medal of Honor citation notes. 263 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:09,720 George, you were there that day when Father Campadano's body was recovered. 264 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:16,880 Did the men with you and with him know that this guy was extraordinary? 265 00:24:16,880 --> 00:24:19,120 Everybody did. 266 00:24:19,120 --> 00:24:26,720 And I will tell you that had you met him, the first thing that you would see and the 267 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:33,760 first thing that you would realize is that that everything was in his eyes. 268 00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:45,360 His eyes just were so full of compassion and so full of caring and so full of God's love 269 00:24:45,360 --> 00:24:54,480 that it was impossible not to feel that this is a special man that you're talking to. 270 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:59,440 And when he was talking to somebody, it didn't matter what was going on all around him. 271 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:04,440 He would focus generally on one person at a time. 272 00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:10,520 And for those of us that had that experience, when you talk to him, you felt like there 273 00:25:10,520 --> 00:25:12,280 was nothing else going on. 274 00:25:12,280 --> 00:25:22,600 He had such a calming effect when he was treating the dying Marines and the wounded. 275 00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:29,120 He always said to them, and he would tell us before we left, God is with us all this 276 00:25:29,120 --> 00:25:30,560 day. 277 00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:35,920 And he would repeat that over and over again to whoever he talked to. 278 00:25:35,920 --> 00:25:43,760 I want our listeners, as we wrap up here, to realize that Father Campadano's selfless 279 00:25:43,760 --> 00:25:50,040 acts have been recognized by the country in a Medal of Honor. 280 00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:57,120 He has been advanced for canonization within the Catholic Church. 281 00:25:57,120 --> 00:26:04,560 That George Phillips, who we're talking to, is the President or Chair of the Father Vincent 282 00:26:04,560 --> 00:26:06,560 Campadano Guild. 283 00:26:06,560 --> 00:26:16,760 George, how do people continue to follow the ongoing story of this incredible chaplain? 284 00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:20,800 There is a, we have a website. 285 00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:26,040 It's capadano guild.org. 286 00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:30,640 And we also publish newsletters to people who contribute, because that's the only way 287 00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:34,760 we get their names, although you could sign up for the newsletter on the website. 288 00:26:34,760 --> 00:26:38,800 And it's a pretty good website. 289 00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:40,240 There's a lot of history in there. 290 00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:48,280 There are pictures, some of the information that we've gathered to support the cause for 291 00:26:48,280 --> 00:26:50,920 canonization. 292 00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:55,440 But if you wanted to keep up with it, that would, or if you want to become just more 293 00:26:55,440 --> 00:27:03,960 familiar than we can over a short phone conversation, it's all up on the website. 294 00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:08,160 Again, capadano guild.org. 295 00:27:08,160 --> 00:27:14,320 It's important for our listeners to, I think, know this story, just like it's important 296 00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:20,000 for them to know of the four chaplains from World War II or Father Emil Capadano from 297 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:21,320 Korea. 298 00:27:21,320 --> 00:27:29,080 These are all inspiring men who bring out and shine the best in all of us. 299 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:37,480 This is also a story that you hope to bring to TV and film here. 300 00:27:37,480 --> 00:27:39,360 You want to talk a little bit about that, George? 301 00:27:39,360 --> 00:27:40,360 Yes. 302 00:27:40,360 --> 00:27:41,880 The guild's mission is twofold. 303 00:27:41,880 --> 00:27:47,040 One, of course, to raise funds to pay for all the efforts that have to take place. 304 00:27:47,040 --> 00:27:55,600 But the other part of the responsibility and equally important is to spread information 305 00:27:55,600 --> 00:28:02,120 about the servant of God, Father Vincent Capadano, as broadly as we can to as many audiences 306 00:28:02,120 --> 00:28:03,600 as we can. 307 00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:08,320 Not only Catholic, but non-Catholic alike. 308 00:28:08,320 --> 00:28:21,880 We decided back in March of February that there's an old EWTN clip, runs about an hour 309 00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:25,080 or 45 minutes, but it's old. 310 00:28:25,080 --> 00:28:26,680 It's not up to date. 311 00:28:26,680 --> 00:28:29,320 There were some errors. 312 00:28:29,320 --> 00:28:32,360 There's still things in there that are not true. 313 00:28:32,360 --> 00:28:39,360 We decided to put together a documentary and we were able to convince EWTN, which is the 314 00:28:39,360 --> 00:28:44,880 Eternal Word Television Network founded by Mother Angelica. 315 00:28:44,880 --> 00:28:49,080 They became our partners in this. 316 00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:51,240 We have been working on that. 317 00:28:51,240 --> 00:28:59,040 We intend to go to Vietnam shortly back to the Nol where Father Capadano was killed. 318 00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:06,880 We're bringing back three or four Marines who were there that day plus a film crew. 319 00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:12,040 We certainly want our listeners on Veterans Radio to learn more about this story. 320 00:29:12,040 --> 00:29:16,120 Go to CapadanoGuild.org. 321 00:29:16,120 --> 00:29:26,440 Look for the grunt Padre servant of God story that should be coming out in the near future 322 00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:30,280 by EWTN. 323 00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:31,280 Pass this story along. 324 00:29:31,280 --> 00:29:39,520 As I say, it's inspirational on so many different fronts, whether you are religious or not. 325 00:29:39,520 --> 00:29:47,760 This story is about a man who sacrificed himself for his fellow men. 326 00:29:47,760 --> 00:29:50,160 It's a great inspirational story. 327 00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:57,920 George, I want to thank you for making time available today to talk to our listeners. 328 00:29:57,920 --> 00:30:00,520 Thank you for listening to Veterans Radio today. 329 00:30:00,520 --> 00:30:02,040 I am Jim Fossown. 330 00:30:02,040 --> 00:30:04,000 It's been a pleasure to be your host. 331 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:08,640 I'm a Veterans Disability Lawyer at Legal Help for Veterans and you can reach us at 332 00:30:08,640 --> 00:30:15,400 800-693-4800 or legalhelpforveterans.com. 333 00:30:15,400 --> 00:30:20,520 You can follow Veterans Radio on Facebook and listen to our podcasts and internet radio shows 334 00:30:20,520 --> 00:30:23,560 by going to veteransradio.net. 335 00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:27,680 And until next time, you are dismissed. 336 00:30:27,680 --> 00:30:31,560 If you have a VA claim denied by the Board of Veterans Appeals, contact Legal Help for 337 00:30:31,560 --> 00:30:35,800 Veterans at 1-800-693-4800. 338 00:30:35,800 --> 00:30:39,800 They're experts in handling cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. 339 00:30:39,800 --> 00:30:43,720 Their number again, 1-800-693-4800. 340 00:30:43,720 --> 00:30:48,880 Two years ago, I became pregnant with a baby I desperately wanted. 341 00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:54,680 During a routine ultrasound, I learned that the fetus would have a fatal condition and 342 00:30:54,680 --> 00:30:56,000 never survive. 343 00:30:56,000 --> 00:30:59,040 I had to flee my own state to receive treatment. 344 00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:04,000 I think Donald Trump bears an incredible amount of responsibility for these restrictive 345 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:05,080 laws. 346 00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:10,640 We need leaders that will protect our rights and that's Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. 347 00:31:10,640 --> 00:31:13,440 I'm Joe Biden and I approve this message. 348 00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:19,120 In a perfect world where everyone is a perfect driver, please go ahead and merge. 349 00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:20,640 I'll make room. 350 00:31:20,640 --> 00:31:22,400 Thank you, fellow driver. 351 00:31:22,400 --> 00:31:26,400 You wouldn't need a seatbelt, but we don't live in a perfect world. 352 00:31:26,400 --> 00:31:30,440 About a thousand Michiganders die each year in vehicle crashes. 353 00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:35,280 Wearing your seatbelt reduces your risk of death in a crash by 45% or more. 354 00:31:35,280 --> 00:31:38,040 So make our imperfect world safer. 355 00:31:38,040 --> 00:31:39,600 Buckle up. 356 00:31:39,600 --> 00:31:43,600 A message from the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning.