WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.980 You're listening to a special Best of Veterans 00:00:01.980 --> 00:00:05.219 Radio program. This program first aired on April 00:00:05.219 --> 00:00:09.439 6th, 2013. You can listen to this and other Veterans 00:00:09.439 --> 00:00:12.019 Radio programs by going to Veterans Radio and 00:00:12.019 --> 00:00:15.359 clicking on our archives. Now sit back and enjoy 00:00:15.359 --> 00:00:18.160 this great and amazing story of Father Emile 00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:21.760 Capon, Chaplain, United States Army, a servant 00:00:21.760 --> 00:00:30.609 of God. All across America and around the world, 00:00:31.149 --> 00:00:34.750 this is Veterans Radio. This is Veterans Radio. 00:00:38.030 --> 00:00:42.409 And now your host for today's program, Bob Gould. 00:00:50.049 --> 00:00:53.530 Today's Veterans Radio program is dedicated to 00:00:53.530 --> 00:00:56.630 the men and women. who have served and are now 00:00:56.630 --> 00:01:00.939 serving in the Republic of South Korea. We dedicate 00:01:00.939 --> 00:01:05.219 this program to you. Yes, and good morning out 00:01:05.219 --> 00:01:07.900 there and to our listening audience International 00:01:07.900 --> 00:01:10.840 national listening right here to veterans radio 00:01:10.840 --> 00:01:14.040 by the way This is a very very very all of our 00:01:14.040 --> 00:01:16.700 programs are special, but this one is as a very 00:01:16.700 --> 00:01:19.200 close one to our heart We've been following the 00:01:19.200 --> 00:01:22.840 story of father Emil Capon and before we get 00:01:22.840 --> 00:01:25.680 into that I'd like to introduce today in the 00:01:25.680 --> 00:01:29.799 studio with me as guests first of all Today he's 00:01:29.799 --> 00:01:34.250 my wingman. He's the co -pilot, right? Isn't 00:01:34.250 --> 00:01:37.150 that what it would be there in the chopper? Yes, 00:01:37.150 --> 00:01:39.590 absolutely. I'd be Peter Pilot today. Well, and 00:01:39.590 --> 00:01:41.870 of course, you all recognize that voice, right? 00:01:41.890 --> 00:01:44.090 That's Dale Throneberry. Let's hear it for Dale. 00:01:45.810 --> 00:01:47.870 Good morning, everybody, and welcome to Veterans 00:01:47.870 --> 00:01:49.989 Radio. And Bob, I'm really excited about this 00:01:49.989 --> 00:01:51.790 program. I was trying to go back through our 00:01:51.790 --> 00:01:54.230 archives and see the first time that we talked 00:01:54.230 --> 00:01:56.290 about Father Capon, and I believe it was probably 00:01:56.290 --> 00:01:58.189 somewhere around five years ago. It was the first 00:01:58.189 --> 00:02:02.859 time you did a story about him. him and the way 00:02:02.859 --> 00:02:05.879 it's developed over the last five years not only 00:02:05.879 --> 00:02:09.680 the Medal of Honor but also the road to sainthood 00:02:09.680 --> 00:02:12.479 which we'll talk about later on but this is I'm 00:02:12.479 --> 00:02:14.780 fascinated and I congratulate you for putting 00:02:14.780 --> 00:02:16.800 this program together already before we even 00:02:16.800 --> 00:02:18.800 get it going before we even get it going that's 00:02:18.800 --> 00:02:22.780 right and with me to my left is Mr. Tom Lowey 00:02:22.780 --> 00:02:27.479 of the WDEO Development Department. Tom, welcome 00:02:27.479 --> 00:02:29.860 to Veterans Radio. It's an honor to be here today. 00:02:30.020 --> 00:02:31.819 Oh, it's an honor to have you too. I don't think 00:02:31.819 --> 00:02:34.759 you sat on that side. No, I think this is the 00:02:34.759 --> 00:02:37.159 first time on the program. Oh, yes, this is the 00:02:37.159 --> 00:02:38.740 first time I've ever been on Veterans Radio. 00:02:38.919 --> 00:02:41.960 Oh, well, we're very honored. Yeah. And again, 00:02:41.960 --> 00:02:43.680 I'm very honored to be here as well. And this 00:02:43.680 --> 00:02:46.180 is great. Yeah. Just so you folks know, I'm the 00:02:46.180 --> 00:02:48.879 development director for Ave Maria Radio and 00:02:48.879 --> 00:02:51.759 the Veterans Radio records right here in our 00:02:51.759 --> 00:02:54.449 studio. So it's a double. So we're really pleased 00:02:54.449 --> 00:03:40.539 to be here today. It was a time of change five 00:03:40.539 --> 00:03:44.560 years after a great world war. No cell phones, 00:03:44.819 --> 00:03:49.259 color, flat screen TVs, laptops, internet, or 00:03:49.259 --> 00:03:54.280 social media. It was June 25, 1950. That's where 00:03:54.280 --> 00:03:57.960 it all began, at a small village along the 38th 00:03:57.960 --> 00:04:02.879 parallel in a country called Korea. Located between 00:04:02.879 --> 00:04:06.620 China and Japan, Korea is known as the Belgium 00:04:06.620 --> 00:04:11.580 of the East. uncharted land who knew the events 00:04:11.580 --> 00:04:14.599 of that date that would begin to try the souls 00:04:14.599 --> 00:04:19.300 of men and the soul of our country we were at 00:04:19.300 --> 00:04:23.360 peace starting our lives in a brave new world 00:04:23.360 --> 00:04:28.259 but to the soldiers about to begin battle in 00:04:28.259 --> 00:04:34.300 a faraway place spiritual comfort rules father 00:04:34.300 --> 00:04:38.910 Emil Capon of Pilsen, Kansas answered the call. 00:04:39.949 --> 00:04:43.449 He was a priest of the Catholic faith. He wanted 00:04:43.449 --> 00:04:46.990 to serve his fellow soldiers, and so it started. 00:04:48.509 --> 00:04:51.189 Today we celebrate the sacrifice and compassion 00:04:51.189 --> 00:05:12.579 of this remarkable man, Father Emil Capon. Yes, 00:05:12.860 --> 00:05:15.860 welcome once again to Veterans Radio. And I'm 00:05:15.860 --> 00:05:18.759 Bob Gould, going to be your host today. And on 00:05:18.759 --> 00:05:22.319 the line with me, there we go, is Father John 00:05:22.319 --> 00:05:25.779 Hotsy, who began all this, folks. Back about 00:05:25.779 --> 00:05:28.879 six years ago, I received an email from Father 00:05:28.879 --> 00:05:33.100 Hotsy. And that outlined the story of Father 00:05:33.100 --> 00:05:37.189 Kapan. A priest who died in captivity, POW, in 00:05:37.189 --> 00:05:39.870 the Korean War. And again, the Korean War is 00:05:39.870 --> 00:05:42.529 known as a forgotten war. And probably this whole 00:05:42.529 --> 00:05:45.370 story was buried somewhere. But there were people 00:05:45.370 --> 00:05:48.910 keeping it alive besides Father Hotsy. Father 00:05:48.910 --> 00:05:53.670 John Hotsy is the vicar of the Archdiocese of 00:05:53.670 --> 00:05:56.850 Wichita. Father Hotsy, welcome once again to 00:05:56.850 --> 00:05:59.889 Veterans Radio. Thank you. Good to be here. Well, 00:05:59.889 --> 00:06:02.250 it's good to have you. Tell us. Tell us now. 00:06:03.620 --> 00:06:06.319 Father Capon is about to receive the Medal of 00:06:06.319 --> 00:06:10.300 Honor on April the 11th at a White House ceremony 00:06:10.300 --> 00:06:15.220 and fill us in on that. I can't even begin to 00:06:15.220 --> 00:06:17.279 give it justice and I'd like it to come from 00:06:17.279 --> 00:06:20.959 you because you've been the one that has been 00:06:20.959 --> 00:06:25.860 in the forefront with us. Well, I'm not really 00:06:25.860 --> 00:06:27.620 the one that's responsible for it. I'd have to 00:06:27.620 --> 00:06:29.860 say that the people that were responsible for 00:06:29.860 --> 00:06:32.879 it were his fellow prisoners of war. Because 00:06:32.879 --> 00:06:35.160 while I started working on it a few years ago, 00:06:35.459 --> 00:06:39.439 they've been working on it since 1953. When the 00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:41.540 prisoners got out of the prison camp, it was 00:06:41.540 --> 00:06:44.480 prison camp number five that Father Capon was 00:06:44.480 --> 00:06:47.500 interred in. The moment they got out of the prison 00:06:47.500 --> 00:06:49.500 camp, they started telling whoever would listen 00:06:49.500 --> 00:06:52.920 about the story of Father Capon. They were telling 00:06:52.920 --> 00:06:55.600 both military officials and they were also telling 00:06:55.600 --> 00:06:57.959 church officials about the great deeds that he 00:06:57.959 --> 00:07:00.240 had done. and they're the ones that have kept 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:01.579 it up through the years. I mean, they've been 00:07:01.579 --> 00:07:05.600 waiting for this for 60 -some years, telling 00:07:05.600 --> 00:07:08.740 the story of Father Capon. The amazing part about 00:07:08.740 --> 00:07:11.079 the story is while Father Capon was in the prison 00:07:11.079 --> 00:07:14.079 camp for just seven months, these prisoners were 00:07:14.079 --> 00:07:16.540 in that same prison camp for another two and 00:07:16.540 --> 00:07:19.279 a half years after Father Capon had passed away. 00:07:19.800 --> 00:07:22.339 And even after those two and a half years of 00:07:22.339 --> 00:07:24.360 suffering through everything that you suffer 00:07:24.360 --> 00:07:27.649 through in a prison camp, They were still remembering 00:07:27.649 --> 00:07:29.790 fondly of Father Capon and the work that he had 00:07:29.790 --> 00:07:32.750 done. Most of them will say that they would not 00:07:32.750 --> 00:07:34.970 have made it out of the prison camp if it hadn't 00:07:34.970 --> 00:07:37.389 been for Father Capon. And that sounds kind of 00:07:37.389 --> 00:07:39.250 strange because, like I say, Father Capon died 00:07:39.250 --> 00:07:41.050 about two and a half years before the war was 00:07:41.050 --> 00:07:43.850 over and these men were freed from the prison 00:07:43.850 --> 00:07:46.990 camp. But they'll all talk about Father Capon 00:07:46.990 --> 00:07:49.709 instilling this hope in them, a hope that they 00:07:49.709 --> 00:07:52.269 can survive, a hope that they will be able to 00:07:52.269 --> 00:07:54.170 make it back to the United States and also make 00:07:54.170 --> 00:07:56.740 it back to their country. So really these are 00:07:56.740 --> 00:07:58.759 the men that had been telling the story of Father 00:07:58.759 --> 00:08:01.839 Capon all these years, and I've just been able, 00:08:02.399 --> 00:08:03.740 in the more recent years, I've just been able 00:08:03.740 --> 00:08:07.040 to help out and help push that forward a little 00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:09.740 bit, so that the other ones that have really 00:08:09.740 --> 00:08:13.319 been promoting Father Capon's cause, both for 00:08:13.319 --> 00:08:14.980 his sanctity, but also for him to receive the 00:08:14.980 --> 00:08:18.600 Medal of Honor. Now, we just have a phone call, 00:08:18.819 --> 00:08:20.879 and I'm going to interrupt you just for a moment. 00:08:21.019 --> 00:08:23.779 Not the story, but just as a moment, we have 00:08:23.779 --> 00:08:28.100 on the line with us Archbishop Timothy B. Broglio, 00:08:28.800 --> 00:08:31.339 who was born in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. By the 00:08:31.339 --> 00:08:34.980 way, Archbishop, I want to be sure and get that 00:08:34.980 --> 00:08:37.720 on, received an email from a friend of mine, 00:08:37.759 --> 00:08:41.419 Mr. Bob Crudie, who was in high school with you 00:08:41.419 --> 00:08:44.379 and graduated with you at St. Ignatius, and he 00:08:44.379 --> 00:08:48.940 said, go Wildcats. Well, that's very good. Thank 00:08:48.940 --> 00:08:53.519 you for that. But I want to thank you for your 00:08:53.519 --> 00:08:55.980 time. I know you're on a very busy schedule and 00:08:55.980 --> 00:08:58.059 a tight schedule for giving us a call this morning. 00:08:58.279 --> 00:09:00.879 Let me just read this very quickly. Born in Cleveland 00:09:00.879 --> 00:09:04.720 Heights, Ohio, attended St. Anne Elementary School 00:09:04.720 --> 00:09:07.100 in Cleveland Heights and of course St. Ignatius 00:09:07.100 --> 00:09:10.320 High School. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in 00:09:10.320 --> 00:09:15.059 Classics at Boston College and an STB in Theology 00:09:15.059 --> 00:09:18.860 and a doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical 00:09:18.860 --> 00:09:23.919 Georgian University in Rome Italy then there's 00:09:23.919 --> 00:09:27.139 Tom Lowy just very yeah Yeah, there's all this 00:09:27.139 --> 00:09:29.779 ring ring a bell for you. Well. Yes, this is 00:09:29.779 --> 00:09:31.620 Tom Lowy I'm the development director here at 00:09:31.620 --> 00:09:34.940 Ave Maria radio, and I just I was just listening 00:09:34.940 --> 00:09:38.080 to You know Bob as you were reading the the credits 00:09:38.080 --> 00:09:40.860 basically for for the archbishop. You know how 00:09:40.860 --> 00:09:44.860 deeply Informed this man is it's really nice. 00:09:44.860 --> 00:09:46.539 It's really nice to have him with all to have 00:09:46.539 --> 00:09:48.500 him on the program But it goes a little further, 00:09:48.500 --> 00:09:51.240 so let me just yeah To outline this, on November 00:09:51.240 --> 00:09:56.159 19, 2007, Archbishop Broglio was named the fourth 00:09:56.159 --> 00:09:59.639 Archbishop of the Military Services of the United 00:09:59.639 --> 00:10:04.519 States Army and installed on January 25, 2008, 00:10:04.700 --> 00:10:07.799 at the feast of the conversion of St. Paul. Welcome 00:10:07.799 --> 00:10:10.600 to Veterans Radio, Archbishop. Well, thank you 00:10:10.600 --> 00:10:13.460 very much. I appreciate the opportunity to speak 00:10:13.460 --> 00:10:15.820 with you and speak with the listening audience. 00:10:16.299 --> 00:10:19.440 Well, we'd like you to expand on your role with 00:10:19.440 --> 00:10:23.220 Father Capon in this beautiful day, in this day 00:10:23.220 --> 00:10:26.519 that we are celebrating, and we would like to 00:10:26.519 --> 00:10:29.940 welcome you to go ahead and give your feelings 00:10:29.940 --> 00:10:33.419 about this. Well, I think Father Hatsi has already 00:10:33.419 --> 00:10:38.720 given a very cogent explanation of this honor, 00:10:38.860 --> 00:10:42.200 and I think it's important to remember that what 00:10:42.200 --> 00:10:46.289 Father Capon did for his fellow prisoners of 00:10:46.289 --> 00:10:52.129 war was really an expression of who he was as 00:10:52.129 --> 00:10:55.210 a Catholic priest and as a military chaplain. 00:10:55.750 --> 00:10:59.529 He was clearly a man for others. He was clearly 00:10:59.529 --> 00:11:03.950 a man who put into practice the de -attitudes. 00:11:05.450 --> 00:11:15.299 He lived to make real what we say we believe, 00:11:15.320 --> 00:11:18.460 and I think that's essential, and I think it's 00:11:18.460 --> 00:11:22.299 also a good reminder of the fundamental values 00:11:22.299 --> 00:11:25.659 which are Judeo -Christian values on which our 00:11:25.659 --> 00:11:31.059 country is built. And Father Kippon is a magnificent 00:11:31.059 --> 00:11:36.200 and a heroic expression of those values and reminds 00:11:36.200 --> 00:11:40.740 us of what is at the basis of our nation and 00:11:40.740 --> 00:11:45.320 why our nation has such a great and memorable 00:11:45.320 --> 00:11:49.899 history. Absolutely, and I was speaking with 00:11:49.899 --> 00:11:52.899 Tom this morning at breakfast and talked about 00:11:52.899 --> 00:11:56.360 a gentleman I interviewed who was on the 6th 00:11:56.360 --> 00:12:01.500 of June 1944, 0130 hours on a C -47 ready to 00:12:01.500 --> 00:12:06.850 jump into the darkness. over France, and I asked 00:12:06.850 --> 00:12:09.429 him, I said, what were you thinking about thinking 00:12:09.429 --> 00:12:12.070 that? Well, maybe a pension, my dog, my family. 00:12:12.070 --> 00:12:14.570 He said I didn't. He said I didn't want to let 00:12:14.570 --> 00:12:18.409 my body down. Yeah, exactly. It wasn't about 00:12:18.409 --> 00:12:24.669 all the glories, but it was about letting his 00:12:24.669 --> 00:12:26.750 body down. And that's what it's like to be in 00:12:26.750 --> 00:12:30.309 the service. And that's where Father Capon was 00:12:30.309 --> 00:12:33.879 able to He was he was going to serve his fellow 00:12:33.879 --> 00:12:36.799 man. It was that it was that calling it was there 00:12:36.799 --> 00:12:41.259 It was his time. It was I believe No pun intended 00:12:41.259 --> 00:12:45.419 to be ordained that it would be on that particular 00:12:45.419 --> 00:12:47.500 time. Do you want to comment on that Archbishop? 00:12:47.679 --> 00:12:49.940 Well, I think that's I think that's very true 00:12:49.940 --> 00:12:55.879 even his own decision to to stay with His fellow 00:12:55.879 --> 00:12:59.220 prisoners of war and to minister to them. I think 00:12:59.220 --> 00:13:03.710 he He felt that was the logical expression of 00:13:03.710 --> 00:13:10.370 who he was. Certainly, he had already served 00:13:10.370 --> 00:13:12.909 as a chaplain during the Second World War, and 00:13:12.909 --> 00:13:20.549 then to go back into active duty, I think he 00:13:20.549 --> 00:13:25.809 was consumed by this desire to take care of his 00:13:25.809 --> 00:13:29.409 fellow soldiers, obviously regardless of their 00:13:29.610 --> 00:13:33.070 their faith conviction, regardless of who they 00:13:33.070 --> 00:13:36.149 were, it was more an expression of who he was. 00:13:37.850 --> 00:13:40.269 During these times, and there always have been 00:13:40.269 --> 00:13:43.370 trying times in our country and in the Catholic 00:13:43.370 --> 00:13:49.590 faith, etc., but it was his calling to not beat 00:13:49.590 --> 00:13:52.590 a cliché, but it was there, and there was going 00:13:52.590 --> 00:13:56.639 to be no stopping. This was this was it. This 00:13:56.639 --> 00:14:01.259 was his epiphany. This was what he was Put on 00:14:01.259 --> 00:14:03.980 put on this earth to do and he knew that he knew 00:14:03.980 --> 00:14:08.940 this was the path that he was going to take That's 00:14:08.940 --> 00:14:12.980 that's for sure and and he he rose to the occasion 00:14:12.980 --> 00:14:16.039 I think he rose the occasion till till he drew 00:14:16.039 --> 00:14:19.340 his last his last breath and that's a tremendous 00:14:19.340 --> 00:14:22.440 tribute to to him, and it's true in his tribute 00:14:22.440 --> 00:14:28.960 to the armed forces as well. He was not going 00:14:28.960 --> 00:14:34.419 to let his buddy down. Buddy being his fellow 00:14:34.419 --> 00:14:38.379 soldiers and fellow P .O. Tom, you have a comment. 00:14:38.559 --> 00:14:43.299 Your Excellency, I'm not as familiar with the 00:14:43.299 --> 00:14:46.480 story of Father Capone as others are, but I do 00:14:46.480 --> 00:14:48.200 have a couple questions. You were talking about 00:14:48.200 --> 00:14:51.700 his ministry. uh... in the camps themselves and 00:14:51.700 --> 00:14:54.320 uh... uh... what what we know or do you know 00:14:54.320 --> 00:14:56.779 anything specifically about that uh... for instance 00:14:56.779 --> 00:14:58.320 here's one question right off the bat you know 00:14:58.320 --> 00:15:01.580 was he able to celebrate mass today did the uh... 00:15:01.580 --> 00:15:04.259 uh... did his uh... prison words to the allowed 00:15:04.259 --> 00:15:06.840 type of a that type of a thing uh... what kind 00:15:06.840 --> 00:15:09.039 of service was he actually doing within the uh... 00:15:09.039 --> 00:15:11.399 within the prison camp to the best of my knowledge 00:15:11.399 --> 00:15:13.759 he was able to celebrate mass whether that was 00:15:13.759 --> 00:15:16.080 clandestine or not i don't know but i do know 00:15:16.080 --> 00:15:19.580 that uh... In one of the books that I read about 00:15:19.580 --> 00:15:23.460 him, there was the story of after his death, 00:15:23.740 --> 00:15:27.580 one of the prison guards had a patent that he 00:15:27.580 --> 00:15:33.019 used. And I think one of the prisoners took it 00:15:33.019 --> 00:15:36.779 from him. So I mean that would seem to indicate 00:15:36.779 --> 00:15:40.720 that he celebrated mass and was able to do that. 00:15:40.940 --> 00:15:44.379 Father Hudson might have a more complete response 00:15:44.379 --> 00:15:49.480 to that question. I do know that he certainly 00:15:49.480 --> 00:15:56.139 would have ministered to the Catholic POWs to 00:15:56.139 --> 00:15:58.039 the best of his ability and then of course took 00:15:58.039 --> 00:16:00.580 care of the others as well. Well, yeah, thank 00:16:00.580 --> 00:16:03.299 you. And it just seems to me that his service 00:16:03.299 --> 00:16:06.820 there, his ministry, was memorable. You know, 00:16:07.240 --> 00:16:09.740 there's a lot of, you know, whether they're Catholic 00:16:09.740 --> 00:16:13.039 or not, the stories that come back are pretty 00:16:13.039 --> 00:16:16.330 remarkable. They certainly are, and they indicated 00:16:16.330 --> 00:16:21.750 that he was there for everyone, and even his 00:16:21.750 --> 00:16:27.570 ability to pilfer extra foodstuff so that the 00:16:27.570 --> 00:16:32.870 men kept up their strength to the best of his 00:16:32.870 --> 00:16:35.870 ability, I think that's also a tribute to his 00:16:35.870 --> 00:16:38.429 willingness to serve others. I'm sure he was 00:16:38.429 --> 00:16:42.830 devoted to St. Dismas, the good thief. Well, 00:16:43.129 --> 00:16:46.169 we have quite a guest list today. We want to 00:16:46.169 --> 00:16:49.629 thank you, Archbishop Broglio, for taking time 00:16:49.629 --> 00:16:51.850 in a very busy schedule to give us a call this 00:16:51.850 --> 00:16:53.710 morning. I know it's very early, and I hope you've 00:16:53.710 --> 00:16:57.009 had your cup of coffee and are ready to go and 00:16:57.009 --> 00:16:59.350 give it a day. And thank you again for being 00:16:59.350 --> 00:17:01.250 on the program. We'd like to have you come back. 00:17:01.269 --> 00:17:05.069 Isn't that right, Dale? Absolutely. Let's see 00:17:05.069 --> 00:17:10.650 if I get this right. the Center for Military 00:17:10.650 --> 00:17:14.089 Services. We'll have to talk a little bit more 00:17:14.089 --> 00:17:16.269 about that at a future program we'd like to have 00:17:16.269 --> 00:17:19.910 you on. Once again, thank you for your time and 00:17:19.910 --> 00:17:33.339 a very busy day and God bless. Ray Dao, and it 00:17:33.339 --> 00:17:36.700 talks about Father Kapan being in the prisoner 00:17:36.700 --> 00:17:39.680 of war camp. Of course, in North Korea, it's 00:17:39.680 --> 00:17:42.299 freezing, the conditions are just horrible, and 00:17:42.299 --> 00:17:43.579 we're not going to get into all that too much. 00:17:43.599 --> 00:17:45.680 It happened to be the coldest winter in 100 years. 00:17:45.700 --> 00:17:50.319 I know. It was one of those. But this man had 00:17:50.319 --> 00:17:53.180 such compassion for his fellow prisoners that 00:17:53.180 --> 00:17:56.599 every morning that he would round up a pan full 00:17:56.599 --> 00:17:59.079 of hot water and come walking into the prison. 00:17:59.819 --> 00:18:02.119 you know hooch that they were in cheerfully saying 00:18:02.119 --> 00:18:04.259 coffee everyone and pour a little hot water in 00:18:04.259 --> 00:18:05.839 everyone's bowl and they would pretend they were 00:18:05.839 --> 00:18:09.400 drinking coffee and so his goal obviously there 00:18:09.400 --> 00:18:13.180 was to keep the spirits up and you were in combat 00:18:13.180 --> 00:18:16.920 Dale so you know how important that is to have 00:18:16.920 --> 00:18:21.339 that to have that mental well -being and to have 00:18:21.339 --> 00:18:23.779 that right I think the idea here and not never 00:18:23.779 --> 00:18:27.339 being a POW of course but Just the idea of somebody 00:18:27.339 --> 00:18:30.740 watching out for you. That would be so important, 00:18:30.759 --> 00:18:32.440 I would think. All of the books and all of the 00:18:32.440 --> 00:18:34.839 guests that we've had on Veterans Radio that 00:18:34.839 --> 00:18:38.460 were POWs always talked about the spirituality 00:18:38.460 --> 00:18:42.339 of their mindset, that they had to get into this 00:18:42.339 --> 00:18:44.759 mindset that there was this power greater than 00:18:44.759 --> 00:18:48.779 them, than they, that was watching over them. 00:18:49.200 --> 00:18:52.619 And they all did this. In fact, who? quick promo. 00:18:52.839 --> 00:18:55.119 Next week we're going to talk to a POW from the 00:18:55.119 --> 00:18:58.039 Vietnam area and in his book he talks about that, 00:18:58.200 --> 00:19:01.799 the power of his belief system. Father Hodsey, 00:19:02.140 --> 00:19:04.920 would you like to comment on the idea of celebrating 00:19:04.920 --> 00:19:07.220 Mass out there while he was a POW? Do you want 00:19:07.220 --> 00:19:09.579 to give us some of those details? Well, sure. 00:19:10.460 --> 00:19:12.480 Actually, I think he was only able to celebrate 00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:14.700 Mass once when he was there in the prison camp 00:19:14.700 --> 00:19:17.359 and that was soon after they were entured. And 00:19:17.359 --> 00:19:18.940 I don't even know that he was able to complete 00:19:18.940 --> 00:19:21.019 the mass, because at first when they were starting 00:19:21.019 --> 00:19:23.920 to set up to celebrate mass, the guards kind 00:19:23.920 --> 00:19:26.480 of ignored him. And then when they realized what 00:19:26.480 --> 00:19:29.539 was going on, I think they either tried to stop 00:19:29.539 --> 00:19:32.279 them or they didn't stop him from finishing the 00:19:32.279 --> 00:19:35.480 celebration of mass. But that didn't stop Father 00:19:35.480 --> 00:19:37.640 Capon, though. I mean, he continued to have prayer 00:19:37.640 --> 00:19:40.059 services. And usually what they would do is, 00:19:40.059 --> 00:19:42.039 or what he would do is as he was going around, 00:19:42.599 --> 00:19:45.460 if he saw an opportunity to have like an impromptu 00:19:45.460 --> 00:19:48.059 prayer service. He would just gather people around 00:19:48.059 --> 00:19:51.380 that were there. And all of the men will say 00:19:51.380 --> 00:19:53.480 that he took care of not only the Catholics, 00:19:53.599 --> 00:19:56.660 but he took care of everybody. He said, it didn't 00:19:56.660 --> 00:19:58.480 matter if you were Protestant, it didn't matter 00:19:58.480 --> 00:20:00.140 if you were Jew, it didn't matter if you were 00:20:00.140 --> 00:20:01.859 Muslim, it didn't matter if you didn't believe 00:20:01.859 --> 00:20:05.220 in God. That one Father Capon was around, everybody 00:20:05.220 --> 00:20:08.480 joined him in prayers. One man, a Protestant 00:20:08.480 --> 00:20:10.619 man, kind of laughed about it. And he said, yeah, 00:20:10.700 --> 00:20:12.180 he said, well, you're there in the hut. And he 00:20:12.180 --> 00:20:16.130 said, here we were, Protestants, Jews. non -believers, 00:20:16.390 --> 00:20:18.210 all praying the rosary with Father Kapan because 00:20:18.210 --> 00:20:22.430 he was there bringing that sense of hope to us. 00:20:23.190 --> 00:20:25.430 So he would have these impromptu prayer sessions, 00:20:25.609 --> 00:20:27.349 but also I think probably what the men remember 00:20:27.349 --> 00:20:31.589 more so. Soon after they were in the prison camp, 00:20:31.670 --> 00:20:33.529 they separated the officers from the enlisted 00:20:33.529 --> 00:20:37.170 men, and it was to do what you had just talked 00:20:37.170 --> 00:20:39.769 about them doing. They wanted to break the morale 00:20:39.769 --> 00:20:42.420 of the men. They knew that they could probably 00:20:42.420 --> 00:20:45.019 break the morale of the enlisted men easier than 00:20:45.019 --> 00:20:48.000 they could the officers because the officers 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:50.140 were older and the enlisted men being in their 00:20:50.140 --> 00:20:53.599 late teens and early twenties. But that didn't 00:20:53.599 --> 00:20:55.759 stop Father Capon from going to minister to the 00:20:55.759 --> 00:20:58.599 enlisted men either because at night he would 00:20:58.599 --> 00:21:00.900 get up and he would break into or break out of 00:21:00.900 --> 00:21:03.619 the officer's compound and go into the enlisted 00:21:03.619 --> 00:21:05.779 men's compound and they would talk about him 00:21:05.779 --> 00:21:09.359 going from hut to hut. to check on the men. They 00:21:09.359 --> 00:21:11.140 said that he would come in and he would first 00:21:11.140 --> 00:21:13.779 check to see if everybody was doing all right 00:21:13.779 --> 00:21:16.019 or if he needed to make sure a doctor got to 00:21:16.019 --> 00:21:18.799 them the next day. If he had any food that he 00:21:18.799 --> 00:21:22.900 had been able to steal or take from the rations 00:21:22.900 --> 00:21:25.920 of the North Koreans or the Chinese, he would 00:21:25.920 --> 00:21:29.460 pass out the food that he had for them. And one 00:21:29.460 --> 00:21:32.539 guy said, Father Capon was known for having a 00:21:32.539 --> 00:21:35.069 pipe. And they said that he would take his pipe 00:21:35.069 --> 00:21:37.029 and he would line up his pipe and he said he 00:21:37.029 --> 00:21:39.109 would take a puff of the pipe and then pass it 00:21:39.109 --> 00:21:41.170 around so everybody could have a puff of the 00:21:41.170 --> 00:21:43.130 pipe. He could have a little bit of tobacco. 00:21:43.490 --> 00:21:47.650 I love it. Well, the funny part is one man was 00:21:47.650 --> 00:21:49.609 talking to me and he said, father, he said, you 00:21:49.609 --> 00:21:52.309 know, I think we had tobacco for the first couple 00:21:52.309 --> 00:21:55.460 of weeks. But after that, he said, I know he 00:21:55.460 --> 00:21:57.160 had ran out of tobacco, and he said, I have no 00:21:57.160 --> 00:21:59.359 idea why you were smoking, but he said it wasn't 00:21:59.359 --> 00:22:02.059 tobacco. Could have been what, but it was, you 00:22:02.059 --> 00:22:04.279 know, and in a way that's like sharing communion. 00:22:04.799 --> 00:22:08.940 Exactly. And it's a way of bonding. He was, I 00:22:08.940 --> 00:22:11.519 don't want to use the word obsessed, he was driven. 00:22:11.690 --> 00:22:14.930 There we go. He was driven. No, obsession. No, 00:22:14.930 --> 00:22:17.410 no, we don't want to use. He was driven and there 00:22:17.410 --> 00:22:21.210 was no stopping him, no matter what. The Chinese, 00:22:21.609 --> 00:22:24.089 the North Koreans, there was no stopping him. 00:22:24.289 --> 00:22:28.670 Comment on that, Father. Well, if I go back to 00:22:28.670 --> 00:22:30.009 my story a little, I think it will demonstrate 00:22:30.009 --> 00:22:32.049 it. The guys say that after he passed the pipe 00:22:32.049 --> 00:22:34.390 around, he would say, well, let's pray. And he 00:22:34.390 --> 00:22:35.809 said he would lead them in prayer, and then he 00:22:35.809 --> 00:22:38.930 would go from that hut to the next hut. But he 00:22:38.930 --> 00:22:41.740 would not stop. not stop doing that. I mean, 00:22:41.740 --> 00:22:44.059 he would do it at night. One guy asked me, he 00:22:44.059 --> 00:22:46.160 said, I don't even know if he ever slept. He 00:22:46.160 --> 00:22:47.700 said, it seemed like he was always on the go, 00:22:47.700 --> 00:22:50.140 always doing something, always having that drive 00:22:50.140 --> 00:22:53.019 to go out and to help others. I did hear one 00:22:53.019 --> 00:22:55.039 story. It was from a commanding officer of his 00:22:55.039 --> 00:22:58.299 ones. And he said this was prior to them being 00:22:58.299 --> 00:23:00.740 captured. And he said, oftentimes, he said, I 00:23:00.740 --> 00:23:03.140 had time. He said, I had a hard time sleeping 00:23:03.140 --> 00:23:04.920 at night. He said, I would be worried about what 00:23:04.920 --> 00:23:07.859 was going on and what battles were going to be 00:23:07.859 --> 00:23:10.619 coming our way and things. So he said he would 00:23:10.619 --> 00:23:12.619 often get up and walk around the camp at night. 00:23:13.019 --> 00:23:14.940 And he said more often than not, he said he would 00:23:14.940 --> 00:23:17.099 go and he would see some light on in the hut 00:23:17.099 --> 00:23:19.160 that sooner it had been on or sooner it had been 00:23:19.160 --> 00:23:21.319 anybody there and he would go. And he said it 00:23:21.319 --> 00:23:23.299 would be Father Capone and he'd be in there writing 00:23:23.299 --> 00:23:26.680 letters home to the families of the soldiers 00:23:26.680 --> 00:23:30.940 that had passed away. He said he just kept going 00:23:30.940 --> 00:23:33.119 and kept doing things. And when you look at it 00:23:33.119 --> 00:23:35.200 and you hear the stories, I mean, people that 00:23:35.200 --> 00:23:37.599 helped me gather information that we sent over 00:23:37.599 --> 00:23:40.170 to Rome. One man said, he said, well, he said, 00:23:40.230 --> 00:23:42.349 I don't know how he was able to accomplish everything 00:23:42.349 --> 00:23:45.789 that he had done. And this man said that he had 00:23:45.789 --> 00:23:49.150 taken the time and he had made a timeline from 00:23:49.150 --> 00:23:53.210 stories that we had heard of Father Capon. And 00:23:53.210 --> 00:23:55.990 they're all things where he had done things right 00:23:55.990 --> 00:23:58.309 after the another. And it was like, how could 00:23:58.309 --> 00:24:00.750 you possibly do all of this stuff? So you're 00:24:00.750 --> 00:24:02.670 right. I mean, he was a driven man, and he was 00:24:02.670 --> 00:24:06.609 driven by his need to. help his fellow soldier. 00:24:06.990 --> 00:24:09.569 No stopping, no stopping, nothing. Exactly. No, 00:24:09.589 --> 00:24:12.890 not the weather, not the brutality. In fact, 00:24:13.089 --> 00:24:17.309 that usually steals people even more to resist 00:24:17.309 --> 00:24:22.329 tyranny and to resist discomfort and to prevail. 00:24:22.710 --> 00:24:25.049 Right now, on the line, stay on the line please, 00:24:25.230 --> 00:24:29.690 Father John. Okay, on the line with me. Bob reaches 00:24:29.690 --> 00:24:34.609 over. It is Mr. Roy Vensel. He's a national award 00:24:34.609 --> 00:24:39.549 -winning reporter. He's now working with the 00:24:39.549 --> 00:24:43.470 Wichita Eagle, and he's written a couple of books. 00:24:43.710 --> 00:24:45.750 The latest one, his second book, was published 00:24:45.750 --> 00:24:50.069 last month by, we'll get this, St. Ignace Press. 00:24:50.130 --> 00:24:55.789 I should probably spell that. T -I -U -S, and 00:24:55.789 --> 00:24:58.450 it's called the miracle of Father Capante. You're 00:24:58.450 --> 00:25:00.970 all going to want this. You have a veteran in 00:25:00.970 --> 00:25:02.890 the family. You're going to want this. You're 00:25:02.890 --> 00:25:05.730 going to want this book. In fact, I gave a copy 00:25:05.730 --> 00:25:08.750 of it to Tom, and he's had a chance to look at 00:25:08.750 --> 00:25:10.670 it. Isn't that a wonderful book? It really is. 00:25:10.670 --> 00:25:13.990 It's quite beautiful. It's lavishly illustrated. 00:25:14.170 --> 00:25:16.990 No doubt about it. And the amount of information 00:25:16.990 --> 00:25:19.930 that's in it is very carefully put together. 00:25:20.890 --> 00:25:23.650 This man has done a great job of telling this 00:25:23.650 --> 00:25:25.750 story. So it's really good that he's here with 00:25:25.750 --> 00:25:27.670 us today so we can talk to him. Absolutely. And 00:25:27.670 --> 00:25:31.240 we have the author. So currently, he is with 00:25:31.240 --> 00:25:34.279 the Wichita Eagle. He is the author of The Miracle 00:25:34.279 --> 00:25:37.960 of Father Capone. It's also on DVD. Veterans 00:25:37.960 --> 00:25:42.519 Radio, welcome to Roy Wenzel. Glad to be here. 00:25:43.000 --> 00:25:45.519 Glad we could have you there all the way to Wichita. 00:25:46.480 --> 00:25:49.940 And what's the weather like down there? Just 00:25:49.940 --> 00:25:52.619 a little nice and windy and cool. Like it always 00:25:52.619 --> 00:25:55.460 is. A cool April day in Kansas, yeah. I was down 00:25:55.460 --> 00:25:58.049 there at Fort Riley, I know it well. Roy, why 00:25:58.049 --> 00:25:59.609 don't you fill us in? We've only got a couple 00:25:59.609 --> 00:26:02.250 minutes before the halfway break, but just give 00:26:02.250 --> 00:26:05.309 us a little something about how you put all this 00:26:05.309 --> 00:26:10.690 together, the DVD and the book. We started working 00:26:10.690 --> 00:26:14.569 on it with one phone call to some priest named 00:26:14.569 --> 00:26:20.349 John Hotsy. Yeah, we've heard of him. I had some 00:26:20.349 --> 00:26:22.349 preconceived notions and didn't want to do the 00:26:22.349 --> 00:26:25.009 story, but I went to that priest and he straightened 00:26:25.009 --> 00:26:29.160 me out, at least on that. And we started working 00:26:29.160 --> 00:26:32.099 on it. He was the one who told me, this really 00:26:32.099 --> 00:26:35.759 got us going. I thought it was just another old 00:26:35.759 --> 00:26:37.740 anniversary story that my editors were trying 00:26:37.740 --> 00:26:41.640 to make me do. But when I called him at their 00:26:41.640 --> 00:26:44.240 suggestion, I found out from him that the Medal 00:26:44.240 --> 00:26:47.480 of Honor investigation had heated up again. And 00:26:47.480 --> 00:26:50.539 the Sainthood investigation had heated up again 00:26:50.539 --> 00:26:56.579 quite a bit. parallel investigations were really 00:26:56.579 --> 00:27:01.279 getting very interesting. And the other preconceived 00:27:01.279 --> 00:27:03.180 notion I had was, well, how am I going to do 00:27:03.180 --> 00:27:06.319 this? It's been close to 60 years. Surely his 00:27:06.319 --> 00:27:10.240 friends are, you know, a little too old to help 00:27:10.240 --> 00:27:13.839 me out enough. And he assured me, no, he had 00:27:13.839 --> 00:27:16.059 talked to them. A bunch of them were still alive, 00:27:16.160 --> 00:27:18.299 still very vigorous, and still very irritated 00:27:18.299 --> 00:27:21.990 that that there was no medal of honor for a guy 00:27:21.990 --> 00:27:25.049 that they had seen up close do everything and 00:27:25.049 --> 00:27:28.890 beyond that made him very deserving. So we spent 00:27:28.890 --> 00:27:33.869 six months. My friend Travis Hine, a great photojournalist, 00:27:34.109 --> 00:27:35.910 and I went all over the country and interviewed 00:27:35.910 --> 00:27:38.309 some of these guys. It was probably one of the 00:27:38.309 --> 00:27:42.250 more interesting and moving stories we've ever 00:27:42.250 --> 00:27:46.289 worked on together or separately. And they filled 00:27:46.289 --> 00:27:51.460 us in about what he did. And it took us six months. 00:27:51.779 --> 00:27:53.680 We put that together. And then about a year and 00:27:53.680 --> 00:27:57.039 a half or so later, St. Ignatius Press got in 00:27:57.039 --> 00:27:58.519 touch with us and said, you know, we kind of 00:27:58.519 --> 00:28:01.059 like your story. Would you mind turning it into 00:28:01.059 --> 00:28:05.160 a book? And I thought about that really long 00:28:05.160 --> 00:28:10.799 and hard. And then, OK, fine. We now have a book 00:28:10.799 --> 00:28:14.380 with a lot more information than we had in the 00:28:14.380 --> 00:28:17.470 2009 story. And now all of this is happening 00:28:17.470 --> 00:28:19.970 just at the same time the book is coming out, 00:28:19.970 --> 00:28:22.509 so we're kind of pleased with that. Well, we'll 00:28:22.509 --> 00:28:24.309 get to that in just a moment. I can't believe 00:28:24.309 --> 00:28:26.369 the timing on this. This guy is really good, 00:28:26.410 --> 00:28:28.490 folks, right? We've got 20 seconds before we 00:28:28.490 --> 00:28:31.150 go to our halftime break, so Roy, stay on the 00:28:31.150 --> 00:28:34.690 line, yes, and we'll want to give that information. 00:28:34.789 --> 00:28:37.430 Now, you can buy the DVD and the book, and we're 00:28:37.430 --> 00:28:40.720 going to go to a very, very quick... break right 00:28:40.720 --> 00:28:43.460 nina and she's pushing all kinds of buttons five 00:28:43.460 --> 00:28:46.079 four three you're listening to veterans radio 00:28:46.079 --> 00:28:48.640 don't go away if you have a v a claim denied 00:28:48.640 --> 00:28:50.880 by the board of veterans appeals contact legal 00:28:50.880 --> 00:28:52.900 help for veterans at one eight hundred six nine 00:28:52.900 --> 00:28:56.240 three four eight zero zero their experts in handling 00:28:56.240 --> 00:28:58.559 cases before the u .s. court of appeals for veterans 00:28:58.559 --> 00:29:01.099 claims their number again one eight hundred six 00:29:01.099 --> 00:29:37.680 nine three four eight zero zero like that. I 00:29:37.680 --> 00:29:39.339 was listening to that this morning and I said 00:29:39.339 --> 00:29:41.380 that's going to be so appropriate because it 00:29:41.380 --> 00:29:45.920 is a new beginning. That's from a CD called Renew 00:29:45.920 --> 00:29:48.299 and it really does make you feel that way. That's 00:29:48.299 --> 00:29:50.900 exactly what we're doing. We're renewing life. 00:29:51.480 --> 00:29:55.460 Story of Father Emil Capon. And on the line with 00:29:55.460 --> 00:30:02.220 me is Father John Hotsy, the vicar of the Archdiocese 00:30:02.220 --> 00:30:07.400 of Wichita, and Mr. Roy Wenzel, who is a national 00:30:07.400 --> 00:30:10.700 award -winning reporter with the Wichita Eagle. 00:30:10.839 --> 00:30:13.779 Roy, I know that when you were doing your research 00:30:13.779 --> 00:30:17.559 for the book and for the DVD, you did meet with 00:30:17.559 --> 00:30:21.109 those that were. right there with Father Capon 00:30:21.109 --> 00:30:23.869 and why don't you very briefly tell us what that 00:30:23.869 --> 00:30:29.329 was like to meet with these people. Well, I had 00:30:29.329 --> 00:30:31.630 a lot of experience in the past interviewing 00:30:31.630 --> 00:30:37.049 veterans of all the wars back to World War II 00:30:37.049 --> 00:30:40.509 and they're very tough. Soldiers are usually 00:30:40.509 --> 00:30:42.390 they don't want to talk very much about these 00:30:42.390 --> 00:30:47.000 things. They don't... want to talk about the 00:30:47.000 --> 00:30:49.859 terrible things as much, because they just don't 00:30:49.859 --> 00:30:52.019 think anybody will get it, who's never had to 00:30:52.019 --> 00:30:56.259 do it. And some of them are traumatized in one 00:30:56.259 --> 00:30:58.000 way or another, and they just don't want to go 00:30:58.000 --> 00:31:00.420 there. So they just try to go on with their lives. 00:31:00.539 --> 00:31:03.519 But in this case, they had gone through terrible 00:31:03.519 --> 00:31:06.339 things, these guys, and they didn't really want 00:31:06.339 --> 00:31:09.440 to talk about themselves. They did. Really vehemently 00:31:09.440 --> 00:31:11.900 want to talk about him because they walked out 00:31:11.900 --> 00:31:14.940 of that camp in 1953 determined to try to get 00:31:14.940 --> 00:31:19.119 somebody's attention and and Make make this ceremony 00:31:19.119 --> 00:31:21.079 that's finally going to happen this coming week 00:31:21.079 --> 00:31:23.940 to make it happen. It took them 60 years They're 00:31:23.940 --> 00:31:27.380 a little irritated with that But but they did 00:31:27.380 --> 00:31:30.680 it so it was It was very compelling to talk to 00:31:30.680 --> 00:31:34.579 these guys Well, we have one of them on the air 00:31:34.579 --> 00:31:40.079 right now about standing by Mr. Bill Funchus 00:31:40.079 --> 00:31:44.880 Mr. William Bill Funchus who was with the 24th 00:31:44.880 --> 00:31:48.640 Infantry Division in Korea he was one of the 00:31:48.640 --> 00:31:51.059 ones thrown right literally into the breach the 00:31:51.059 --> 00:31:55.619 soldiers to stop the onslaught of the Republic 00:31:55.619 --> 00:32:00.019 of North Korea and and then the Chinese came 00:32:00.019 --> 00:32:05.200 in in November of 1950 and that was when Mr. 00:32:05.480 --> 00:32:08.460 Funchus, along with thousands of other soldiers, 00:32:09.019 --> 00:32:12.019 airmen, et cetera, were captured, and Father 00:32:12.019 --> 00:32:16.579 Capon was also November of 1950. Bill Funchus, 00:32:17.019 --> 00:32:20.579 welcome to Veterans Radio. Thank you. I'm glad 00:32:20.579 --> 00:32:23.099 to be here, sir. Well, we're glad to have you. 00:32:23.900 --> 00:32:27.619 And please tell us, tell us, Father Capon, there 00:32:27.619 --> 00:32:30.740 he is standing there, and you have a whole chance 00:32:30.740 --> 00:32:34.559 now to... to describe that. What was his stature? 00:32:34.660 --> 00:32:39.220 What was he like? Father Capon was a great man. 00:32:39.660 --> 00:32:44.099 He always stood out in the crowd. And I recall 00:32:44.099 --> 00:32:48.420 the first time that I really saw him. We were 00:32:48.420 --> 00:32:51.359 on the march together, but I was wounded and 00:32:51.359 --> 00:32:54.819 I was the last one in the column. And so I did 00:32:54.819 --> 00:32:57.380 not meet him on the march, but sometime later 00:32:57.380 --> 00:33:02.960 in the camp, I saw a man melting snow, and I 00:33:02.960 --> 00:33:05.559 walked over to see what he was doing, and he 00:33:05.559 --> 00:33:09.680 introduced himself, his father, Emil Capon, and 00:33:09.680 --> 00:33:12.220 he asked me if I would like to have a drink of 00:33:12.220 --> 00:33:15.859 water. And I said, yes, sir, I have not had any 00:33:15.859 --> 00:33:18.240 water to drink since the day I was captured, 00:33:18.619 --> 00:33:21.740 and it's been three months. And so he gave me 00:33:21.740 --> 00:33:25.440 the first drink of water that I had after I was 00:33:25.440 --> 00:33:29.349 captured. But he was a great man. He was always 00:33:29.349 --> 00:33:33.970 taking risks and chances in order to help someone 00:33:33.970 --> 00:33:37.450 else. He would go out. He'd scrounge things that 00:33:37.450 --> 00:33:40.250 we could use. He would scrounge food for us. 00:33:40.769 --> 00:33:44.809 He would attend to the wounds of the sick and 00:33:44.809 --> 00:33:48.569 the wounded. And he's a very caring individual. 00:33:48.849 --> 00:33:52.450 And I want to say again, he was perhaps the greatest 00:33:52.450 --> 00:33:56.549 man that I've ever met. Well, that's really saying 00:33:56.549 --> 00:33:58.509 something Tom you're shaking your head after 00:33:58.509 --> 00:34:01.569 hearing something like that. Oh, it's very moving 00:34:01.569 --> 00:34:06.690 to hear stories of this of this man's goodness 00:34:06.690 --> 00:34:10.440 and and how The simple expression of goodness, 00:34:10.599 --> 00:34:13.539 you know a drink of water how that can make a 00:34:13.539 --> 00:34:15.699 sip of water All right now how that changes a 00:34:15.699 --> 00:34:19.179 man's life in a positive way, you know taking 00:34:19.179 --> 00:34:21.360 care of the wound Just just looking and seeing 00:34:21.360 --> 00:34:24.460 that somebody is in need. So, you know, thank 00:34:24.460 --> 00:34:26.099 you for your testimony, sir I mean, this is this 00:34:26.099 --> 00:34:29.179 is terrific to hear And I'm sure that there was 00:34:29.179 --> 00:34:31.820 a very difficult time in your life, too I'm absolutely 00:34:31.820 --> 00:34:35.519 positive of that. So yeah, I'd like to know more. 00:34:35.519 --> 00:34:37.940 I really would you know, well bill go ahead and 00:34:37.940 --> 00:34:39.460 tell Tell us a little bit more. Give us some 00:34:39.460 --> 00:34:45.780 more stories of Camp 5. Well, at the time he 00:34:45.780 --> 00:34:48.880 gave me my drink of water, the Chinese and North 00:34:48.880 --> 00:34:52.639 Koreans did not realize I was an officer. And 00:34:52.639 --> 00:34:56.000 sometime later they moved me into the officer 00:34:56.000 --> 00:35:01.760 compound and I observed Father Capon from time 00:35:01.760 --> 00:35:04.940 to time slipping across the barbed wire fence 00:35:04.940 --> 00:35:09.699 at great risk to himself. and he would go over 00:35:09.699 --> 00:35:13.619 into the enlisted men's compound and take care 00:35:13.619 --> 00:35:17.659 of their needs. He would offer prayers, not only 00:35:17.659 --> 00:35:20.760 to the Catholics, but to the non -Catholics, 00:35:20.960 --> 00:35:24.699 to Protestants like myself, and we were very 00:35:24.699 --> 00:35:29.840 appreciative of that. Now, Father Capon was living 00:35:29.840 --> 00:35:35.219 in a separate room from me at first, but later 00:35:35.219 --> 00:35:39.840 on, The Chinese and the North Koreans apparently 00:35:39.840 --> 00:35:43.699 wanted to isolate Father Capon from the Catholics, 00:35:44.139 --> 00:35:48.579 so they threw him into the room in my shack. 00:35:50.280 --> 00:35:53.679 There was no place for Father Capon in the room, 00:35:54.239 --> 00:35:57.980 so I made everybody move over and I gave Father 00:35:57.980 --> 00:36:01.940 Capon the place that I was using on the floor. 00:36:01.960 --> 00:36:08.349 It was about 15 inches wide. And so I slept and 00:36:08.349 --> 00:36:12.250 spent my time lying on the floor beside Father 00:36:12.250 --> 00:36:16.210 Capon for the next five or six weeks. Now when 00:36:16.210 --> 00:36:20.789 he came in, he had a blood clot apparently on 00:36:20.789 --> 00:36:26.250 his leg and he could not walk. And so I took 00:36:26.250 --> 00:36:29.969 it upon myself and sometimes with the help of 00:36:29.969 --> 00:36:35.050 other POWs to take care of him. Father Capon's 00:36:35.050 --> 00:36:45.150 daily needs. We were able to find in the rubble 00:36:45.150 --> 00:36:50.170 the top half of a destroyed pot -bellied stove 00:36:50.170 --> 00:36:54.530 made out of cast iron. Father Capon showed us 00:36:54.530 --> 00:36:59.210 how to make these little pans using tin, so we 00:36:59.210 --> 00:37:02.719 made a... little pan, we put it inside that pot 00:37:02.719 --> 00:37:06.699 -bellied stove and we used that for his toilet. 00:37:08.380 --> 00:37:12.019 He had trouble eating, so sometimes we had to 00:37:12.019 --> 00:37:18.019 spoon feed Father Capon. But various men would 00:37:18.019 --> 00:37:21.639 come into the room from time to time to speak 00:37:21.639 --> 00:37:26.239 to Father Capon or ask Father Capon to pray for 00:37:26.239 --> 00:37:32.139 them. and Father Capon always responded. And 00:37:32.139 --> 00:37:34.960 it was not only the Catholics coming in, but 00:37:34.960 --> 00:37:40.260 it was also the non -Catholics coming in to consult 00:37:40.260 --> 00:37:44.940 with Father Capon. And I might point out that 00:37:44.940 --> 00:37:50.840 he was in my room for about five weeks, all of 00:37:50.840 --> 00:37:52.900 April it seems like, and maybe a week or two 00:37:52.900 --> 00:38:01.079 in May of 1951. And then one day, the Chinese 00:38:01.079 --> 00:38:05.380 came in suddenly. They just burst in, four or 00:38:05.380 --> 00:38:09.480 five or six of them, and they said, we are taking 00:38:09.480 --> 00:38:14.099 Kapan to the hospital. And those were the worst 00:38:14.099 --> 00:38:16.619 words that I could have possibly have heard. 00:38:17.539 --> 00:38:20.599 They referred to the building on top of the hill 00:38:20.599 --> 00:38:24.340 as the hospital. We called it the death house 00:38:24.340 --> 00:38:28.619 because whoever went into the death house very 00:38:28.619 --> 00:38:33.940 few came out. Mike Dow came out for one. But 00:38:33.940 --> 00:38:38.679 we knew what was going to happen. And we tried 00:38:38.679 --> 00:38:43.159 our best to prevent the Chinese from taking Father 00:38:43.159 --> 00:38:47.760 Kapon out of my room. I begged them, I told them 00:38:47.760 --> 00:38:50.340 I would take care of him, but they wanted no 00:38:50.340 --> 00:38:54.599 part of that. The Catholics came in, they raised 00:38:54.599 --> 00:38:58.699 the rukus with the Chinese, trying everything 00:38:58.699 --> 00:39:02.539 humanly possible to prevent them from taking 00:39:02.539 --> 00:39:07.820 him up to that building on top of the hill. But 00:39:07.820 --> 00:39:13.579 they took Father Capon anyway. Some of the Catholics 00:39:13.579 --> 00:39:18.380 had the privilege of carrying him from my room 00:39:18.380 --> 00:39:24.000 up to the... so -called hospital or what we call 00:39:24.000 --> 00:39:27.280 the death house. And he was up there for a week 00:39:27.280 --> 00:39:31.480 or two and finally we got word that Father Capon 00:39:31.480 --> 00:39:37.900 had died. And it hit us all, Catholics, non -Catholics, 00:39:38.380 --> 00:39:41.380 just like a ton of bricks because we all had 00:39:41.380 --> 00:39:46.119 so much love and respect for him. It was a great 00:39:46.119 --> 00:39:50.539 loss to him. And it's a loss that I've endured 00:39:50.539 --> 00:39:56.380 ever since I first met him back in 1951. He was 00:39:56.380 --> 00:40:01.400 a great man. Now you survived. You came back 00:40:01.400 --> 00:40:08.099 from Korea. And in closing, how did that affect 00:40:08.099 --> 00:40:11.280 the rest of your life, that experience with Father 00:40:11.280 --> 00:40:18.599 Kapa? Well, I was determined... to live a righteous 00:40:18.599 --> 00:40:23.320 and a religious type of life. I wanted to respect 00:40:23.320 --> 00:40:28.139 my fellow man. I wanted to help my fellow man 00:40:28.139 --> 00:40:33.920 just as much as I possibly could. But it taught 00:40:33.920 --> 00:40:39.380 me a great deal about compassion, and I'm trying 00:40:39.380 --> 00:40:45.849 to understand other people's viewpoints. And 00:40:45.849 --> 00:40:49.989 it encouraged me to try to help other people 00:40:49.989 --> 00:40:53.989 any way that I could. Well, I know that there's 00:40:53.989 --> 00:40:56.469 something that you and I talked about the other 00:40:56.469 --> 00:41:00.150 day, that you get an opportunity now to tell 00:41:00.150 --> 00:41:03.010 our veteran audience and our non -veteran audience 00:41:03.010 --> 00:41:08.539 to recite the 23rd Psalm. And in closing for 00:41:08.539 --> 00:41:10.579 your segment, would you please do that, Bill, 00:41:10.880 --> 00:41:15.099 the one that you recited so well on the DVD. 00:41:15.619 --> 00:41:19.420 Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Bill Funchus. I was 00:41:19.420 --> 00:41:24.019 in a room on one occasion with 11 other seriously 00:41:24.019 --> 00:41:27.980 wounded POWs. At the time I was captured, I hid 00:41:27.980 --> 00:41:32.469 the little pocket Bible that I had. And after 00:41:32.469 --> 00:41:38.110 we got to the first temporary POW camp, I took 00:41:38.110 --> 00:41:42.329 the Bible out of my pocket, and each day, for 00:41:42.329 --> 00:41:45.190 15 or 20 minutes each day, I would read from 00:41:45.190 --> 00:41:49.429 the Bible. And I always would start off by reading 00:41:49.429 --> 00:41:53.530 the 23rd Psalm. And the reason I used the 23rd 00:41:53.530 --> 00:41:57.849 Psalm is because when I was growing up in South 00:41:57.849 --> 00:42:01.420 Carolina, my mother always told me, In times 00:42:01.420 --> 00:42:06.280 of trouble, you should read the 23rd Psalm because 00:42:06.280 --> 00:42:12.300 it will give you peace and comfort. And anyway, 00:42:12.880 --> 00:42:15.699 I asked the men one day, after I had the Bible, 00:42:15.900 --> 00:42:18.639 would you like for me to read? And they said, 00:42:18.639 --> 00:42:21.960 yes, please read. And I read to them, started 00:42:21.960 --> 00:42:26.619 off with the 23rd Psalm. The Lord is my shepherd. 00:42:27.019 --> 00:42:30.940 I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in 00:42:30.940 --> 00:42:34.860 green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still 00:42:34.860 --> 00:42:40.960 waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in 00:42:40.960 --> 00:42:44.460 the paths of righteousness for his namesake. 00:42:45.159 --> 00:42:48.300 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the 00:42:48.300 --> 00:42:52.500 shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou 00:42:52.500 --> 00:42:57.239 art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort 00:42:57.239 --> 00:43:02.510 me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence 00:43:02.510 --> 00:43:06.789 of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with 00:43:06.789 --> 00:43:12.789 oil. My cup runneth over. Surely goodness and 00:43:12.789 --> 00:43:16.889 mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, 00:43:16.929 --> 00:43:21.090 and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. 00:43:21.929 --> 00:43:25.730 Thank you, sir. Thank you very much, Bill, and 00:43:25.730 --> 00:43:29.670 God bless you, and you have a great day. Thank 00:43:29.670 --> 00:43:31.750 you so much Bob for having me a part of this 00:43:31.750 --> 00:43:34.849 program. Are you a veteran or a military spouse 00:43:34.849 --> 00:43:36.650 interested in starting or growing an existing 00:43:36.650 --> 00:43:39.269 business? Then you want to connect with VetBizCentral, 00:43:39.449 --> 00:43:41.449 Michigan's only veteran business resource center 00:43:41.449 --> 00:43:43.510 providing free one -on -one business counseling 00:43:43.510 --> 00:43:45.829 services including research plans and preparing 00:43:45.829 --> 00:43:48.170 veterans to be lender ready. 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You don't need special training 00:44:18.409 --> 00:44:21.010 to help a veteran in your life. Even small actions 00:44:21.010 --> 00:44:23.510 can make a world of difference. If you know a 00:44:23.510 --> 00:44:26.030 veteran in crisis, please call the Veterans Crisis 00:44:26.030 --> 00:44:33.250 Line, 800 -273 -8255. 800 -273 -8255. A message 00:44:33.250 --> 00:44:35.030 from the U .S. Department of Veterans Affairs. 00:45:04.920 --> 00:45:08.699 Oh, we're back. And after that, that was really 00:45:08.699 --> 00:45:11.480 something. What do you think of that, Tom? Well, 00:45:12.659 --> 00:45:14.400 as a guy who's been in radio for a long time, 00:45:14.579 --> 00:45:16.840 that was good radio. That was good radio because, 00:45:16.840 --> 00:45:20.440 you know... This man told us a story. He was 00:45:20.440 --> 00:45:22.380 right there. He was right there. We followed 00:45:22.380 --> 00:45:25.739 him. We sat on every word that he said, you know, 00:45:25.820 --> 00:45:28.579 because it was true. He was so articulate. It 00:45:28.579 --> 00:45:33.820 was like it happened yesterday in his mind, in 00:45:33.820 --> 00:45:35.860 the backroads of his mind, and there it was. 00:45:36.119 --> 00:45:38.679 And also, for him to end in prayer, I thought, 00:45:38.880 --> 00:45:41.059 was really quite beautiful. And I'm glad that 00:45:41.059 --> 00:45:42.800 you asked him to do that, too, Bob. I think that 00:45:42.800 --> 00:45:47.730 was really great. Father Capone has had an impact 00:45:47.730 --> 00:45:50.989 that... is stretching even now. I mean, how many 00:45:50.989 --> 00:45:52.789 people are hearing us right now? We don't know. 00:45:53.389 --> 00:45:58.190 Okay, but his saintliness, this goodness that 00:45:58.190 --> 00:46:02.309 he had in his life was given to these men, and 00:46:02.309 --> 00:46:06.269 these men are now changed for that. And now, 00:46:06.409 --> 00:46:09.050 because of this show that we're doing, other 00:46:09.050 --> 00:46:10.929 people can hear it, and maybe their lives will 00:46:10.929 --> 00:46:13.230 be changed as well. And I thought it was beautiful 00:46:13.230 --> 00:46:15.710 that he decided to go and do the 23rd Psalm, 00:46:15.889 --> 00:46:19.429 because it's so... It's so beautiful, so sweet, 00:46:19.530 --> 00:46:22.789 and so true, and it brings us into the heart 00:46:22.789 --> 00:46:25.769 of God's love. So I just thought this was a very, 00:46:25.769 --> 00:46:27.309 very good radio, and I'm glad you asked me that 00:46:27.309 --> 00:46:31.369 question. And the 23rd Psalm was something he 00:46:31.369 --> 00:46:33.730 recited every day. I'm sure he did. Every day, 00:46:34.090 --> 00:46:36.210 as his mother said, as a time of trouble. Dale, 00:46:36.309 --> 00:46:41.289 you've been... I was taken aback by that, because 00:46:41.289 --> 00:46:44.269 I time tripped back. My sister had given me a 00:46:44.269 --> 00:46:48.719 small... Bible to take to Vietnam with me. And 00:46:48.719 --> 00:46:51.340 the 23rd Psalm had always been important in our 00:46:51.340 --> 00:46:55.920 family. And periodically, I mean you don't know 00:46:55.920 --> 00:46:58.079 me as being very spiritual I don't think, but 00:46:58.079 --> 00:47:00.360 periodically while I was there I would pull out 00:47:00.360 --> 00:47:02.239 that little Bible and read the 23rd Psalm because 00:47:02.239 --> 00:47:06.579 it is the most powerful I think some that's in 00:47:06.579 --> 00:47:09.380 the Bible and you know there are people that 00:47:09.380 --> 00:47:11.960 would read that there are people that would Change 00:47:11.960 --> 00:47:14.059 words and so on and so forth But the message 00:47:14.059 --> 00:47:16.300 was always in the same that you were you were 00:47:16.300 --> 00:47:19.159 protected by something whether you believed or 00:47:19.159 --> 00:47:22.960 not you always had this this Sensation that something 00:47:22.960 --> 00:47:25.900 was watching over you that you were protected 00:47:25.900 --> 00:47:29.159 on that particular time and then and it was just 00:47:30.090 --> 00:47:31.949 I had to pull away from the microphone while 00:47:31.949 --> 00:47:33.829 he was reading that. And again, thinking again, 00:47:34.110 --> 00:47:37.130 this man is probably in his 80s at least. Middle 00:47:37.130 --> 00:47:40.170 80s, yeah. And, you know, all of those men who 00:47:40.170 --> 00:47:42.869 carry this story with them from Father Kapan 00:47:42.869 --> 00:47:45.849 and the impact that this man had on... Sixty 00:47:45.849 --> 00:47:48.469 years later. I know. Well, you know, we were 00:47:48.469 --> 00:47:50.570 talking about when he was describing the room. 00:47:50.610 --> 00:47:53.449 We've had other Korean POWs on and they describe 00:47:53.449 --> 00:47:56.309 the same thing, that they're in a room, whatever 00:47:56.309 --> 00:47:58.050 the size of the room is, each of you had about 00:47:58.050 --> 00:48:00.179 a foot. That was it. They would cram so many 00:48:00.179 --> 00:48:02.860 of you in there that you couldn't even roll over 00:48:02.860 --> 00:48:05.099 without, you know, bumping into the other person. 00:48:05.159 --> 00:48:09.420 You all kind of slept, you know, right next to 00:48:09.420 --> 00:48:11.179 each other like you're, you know, best friends. 00:48:11.440 --> 00:48:13.960 And that any time that the the guards would come 00:48:13.960 --> 00:48:18.639 in and take you to the death room or the death 00:48:18.639 --> 00:48:21.739 building, the hospital, the hospital was that 00:48:21.739 --> 00:48:24.380 that, you know, metaphor for that's it. You're 00:48:24.380 --> 00:48:27.469 done. They didn't come back. A lot of times I 00:48:27.469 --> 00:48:29.630 didn't even reach the hospital, and the stories 00:48:29.630 --> 00:48:31.889 and the people that we've talked to. So can you 00:48:31.889 --> 00:48:35.170 imagine that they're taking this spiritual leader 00:48:35.170 --> 00:48:38.030 away from them, and they knew what was happening? 00:48:40.170 --> 00:48:43.449 I'm sorry. People have got to read this. If you 00:48:43.449 --> 00:48:45.090 can ever get a hold of this thing about Father 00:48:45.090 --> 00:48:48.670 Capon by Mike Dow, who he mentioned, he talks 00:48:48.670 --> 00:48:53.429 about how he had a little... gold cup that he 00:48:53.429 --> 00:48:55.590 would hold for the bread for the communion, I 00:48:55.590 --> 00:49:00.530 guess. And that was their most prized possession 00:49:00.530 --> 00:49:03.789 that he left to them. And that they would continue 00:49:03.789 --> 00:49:06.809 on. And as he was being taken out on a litter, 00:49:07.329 --> 00:49:09.809 he told these men in this room, he says, keep 00:49:09.809 --> 00:49:12.769 going, keep this going. Even though I'm gone, 00:49:13.769 --> 00:49:17.010 you can do this. And that meant survival. Because 00:49:17.010 --> 00:49:21.349 because all the all the physical discomfort and 00:49:21.349 --> 00:49:25.070 stress You can you can get through that you can 00:49:25.070 --> 00:49:27.909 get through that if your mind if your mind is 00:49:27.909 --> 00:49:31.510 with God and spiritually Father Hadzi, I know 00:49:31.510 --> 00:49:34.130 you've had a chance to listen to all this. We've 00:49:34.130 --> 00:49:36.630 only got a few minutes left I'd like you to comment 00:49:36.630 --> 00:49:40.789 and where does father Capone go from? He's receiving 00:49:40.789 --> 00:49:43.550 the Medal of Honor and what does the future lie 00:49:43.550 --> 00:49:47.869 for father Capone? Well, I think a final comment. 00:49:49.070 --> 00:49:51.670 When we look at what Father Capon did, I mean, 00:49:52.150 --> 00:49:54.030 the acts that he did were very simple acts. I 00:49:54.030 --> 00:49:56.110 mean, helping feeding those that were hungry, 00:49:56.449 --> 00:49:58.989 giving clothes to those, trying to provide clean 00:49:58.989 --> 00:50:01.929 water. But Father Capon was able to do it under 00:50:01.929 --> 00:50:05.670 extraordinary circumstances. And just lately, 00:50:05.690 --> 00:50:08.190 I've been thinking about what it would be like 00:50:08.190 --> 00:50:10.690 to be in that prison camp and the fellow prisoners 00:50:10.690 --> 00:50:12.670 and stuff. And I think this is kind of what sets 00:50:13.199 --> 00:50:15.239 me apart and I think probably most of us apart 00:50:15.239 --> 00:50:18.659 from the greatness of Father Capon. I'm sitting 00:50:18.659 --> 00:50:20.519 here thinking, when I get up and I'm struggling 00:50:20.519 --> 00:50:22.519 or when there's a bad period of time, I get up 00:50:22.519 --> 00:50:24.440 and I think, well, how am I going to survive 00:50:24.440 --> 00:50:26.619 this day? And I think probably in the prison 00:50:26.619 --> 00:50:28.880 camp, many men had that same thought, how am 00:50:28.880 --> 00:50:30.599 I going to survive during this day or how am 00:50:30.599 --> 00:50:33.139 I going to live through this day? I think Father 00:50:33.139 --> 00:50:36.119 Capon got up in the morning and thought, how 00:50:36.119 --> 00:50:39.300 am I going to help others survive this day? And 00:50:39.300 --> 00:50:41.739 I think that's probably what sets him apart from, 00:50:41.900 --> 00:50:44.079 I know it would certainly be, but I think probably 00:50:44.079 --> 00:50:46.179 from most of us. I mean, while most of us would 00:50:46.179 --> 00:50:49.280 be thinking about ourselves, Father Capon thought 00:50:49.280 --> 00:50:51.860 about others and how he could help others. And 00:50:51.860 --> 00:50:54.219 ultimately, I mean, he gave his very life in 00:50:54.219 --> 00:50:59.980 that service. In terms of his continuing on in 00:50:59.980 --> 00:51:02.519 the process after the Medal of Honor, certainly 00:51:02.519 --> 00:51:05.880 the Medal of Honor will bring attention to to 00:51:05.880 --> 00:51:10.059 his cause for sainthood, one of the things that 00:51:10.059 --> 00:51:12.559 the Congregation for Saints over in Rome looks 00:51:12.559 --> 00:51:17.559 for in this decision of naming somebody a saint 00:51:17.559 --> 00:51:21.059 is the cult, and I mean a cult in a good way, 00:51:21.400 --> 00:51:23.920 a cult in that people recognize the goodness 00:51:23.920 --> 00:51:26.300 of this man and they recognize the fact that 00:51:26.300 --> 00:51:29.659 he is somebody who led a life of exemplary service 00:51:29.659 --> 00:51:33.420 so that we strive to follow the example that 00:51:33.420 --> 00:51:36.960 they set. ultimately the saints are ones that 00:51:36.960 --> 00:51:39.179 follow the example of Christ and set that example 00:51:39.179 --> 00:51:41.619 of Christ for others. So ultimately, when we 00:51:41.619 --> 00:51:43.619 look at the lives of the saints, they are leading 00:51:43.619 --> 00:51:46.000 us to Christ or leading us to follow the example 00:51:46.000 --> 00:51:50.119 of Christ. So I think certainly that his being 00:51:50.119 --> 00:51:52.159 awarded the Medal of Honor will bring attention 00:51:52.159 --> 00:51:54.900 to him and have people realize that, yes, it 00:51:54.900 --> 00:51:57.739 would be a good idea to follow his example, to 00:51:57.739 --> 00:52:00.519 try to instill hope in others, to try to... to 00:52:00.519 --> 00:52:03.659 bring the love that others have for them, or 00:52:03.659 --> 00:52:06.380 the love that God has for us, and share that 00:52:06.380 --> 00:52:08.079 love with others, which is certainly what Father 00:52:08.079 --> 00:52:11.920 Capone did throughout his entire life. In terms 00:52:11.920 --> 00:52:16.280 of the process for sainted, one of the, well, 00:52:16.360 --> 00:52:18.119 we have all of the documents over in Rome, so 00:52:18.119 --> 00:52:20.179 they are considering those documents in Rome, 00:52:20.960 --> 00:52:23.619 and the process of sainted for his to be ultimately 00:52:23.619 --> 00:52:27.170 named a saint. We will have to prove that there 00:52:27.170 --> 00:52:29.949 were certain miracles worked through his intercession, 00:52:30.369 --> 00:52:33.989 meaning that people prayed to Father Capon, asking 00:52:33.989 --> 00:52:37.230 Father Capon to pray for their needs also. We're 00:52:37.230 --> 00:52:40.349 currently working on a couple alleged miracles 00:52:40.349 --> 00:52:43.050 to see if we can prove that those healings were 00:52:43.050 --> 00:52:46.969 miraculous events or events that had no scientific 00:52:46.969 --> 00:52:50.090 reason for happening. We're working on, like 00:52:50.090 --> 00:52:51.829 I say, proving two of those. Hopefully we'll 00:52:51.829 --> 00:52:54.489 be done with those by this summer. We'll have 00:52:54.489 --> 00:52:56.670 that information over in Rome also, and hopefully 00:52:56.670 --> 00:52:59.730 that will be an impetus for the movement on his 00:52:59.730 --> 00:53:02.269 cause for St. Titus also. And we'll also be covering 00:53:02.269 --> 00:53:04.429 that on Veterans Radio. Thank you very much, 00:53:04.630 --> 00:53:06.969 Father Hadzi. I know you've got a busy day today 00:53:06.969 --> 00:53:10.349 there in Wichita. God bless, and we will be talking 00:53:10.349 --> 00:53:14.010 to you shortly. Thank you for having me. Okay, 00:53:14.210 --> 00:53:16.610 Roy, you're there. We've got about a minute and 00:53:16.610 --> 00:53:18.429 a half to give you. How about some last thoughts? 00:53:20.210 --> 00:53:24.360 Well, what I got out of a couple of years of 00:53:24.360 --> 00:53:30.320 talking to his friends. He's a very unusual man. 00:53:30.500 --> 00:53:33.659 I think some of the descriptions that you hear 00:53:33.659 --> 00:53:38.579 about him tend to tip over into cliches. Yes, 00:53:38.579 --> 00:53:43.380 he was good. Yes, he was holy. But I think he 00:53:43.380 --> 00:53:47.579 put on a clinic for a little less than a year 00:53:47.579 --> 00:53:50.599 in Korea about not only how to lead, but how 00:53:50.599 --> 00:53:54.380 to witness Christianity. What I mean by that 00:53:54.380 --> 00:53:57.059 is he just didn't talk about it very much. He 00:53:57.059 --> 00:53:58.880 didn't say much to anybody. I mean, that was 00:53:58.880 --> 00:54:02.679 kind of his natural personality anyway, but he 00:54:02.679 --> 00:54:06.320 didn't go around judging people or jabbing fingers 00:54:06.320 --> 00:54:08.119 and telling people that they need to go to mass 00:54:08.119 --> 00:54:12.380 or else. His way of witnessing Christianity and 00:54:12.380 --> 00:54:15.599 leadership was if he saw somebody dig in a latrine, 00:54:15.719 --> 00:54:19.420 he went over and started digging with him. If 00:54:19.420 --> 00:54:21.559 the guy asked him, well, who are you? He wouldn't 00:54:21.559 --> 00:54:24.599 necessarily say, I'm Chaplain or Father Capon. 00:54:24.639 --> 00:54:28.639 He would say, I'm Capon. How you doing? He ran 00:54:28.639 --> 00:54:31.480 across the battlefields of many battles, rescuing 00:54:31.480 --> 00:54:34.920 the wounded. People saw him do these things. 00:54:35.900 --> 00:54:38.619 And it kind of snuck up on them that this guy 00:54:38.619 --> 00:54:42.840 is a chaplain. He didn't always evoke that. And 00:54:42.840 --> 00:54:45.119 so when things really fell apart and they needed 00:54:45.119 --> 00:54:49.119 a leader, They would do what he asked, where 00:54:49.119 --> 00:54:51.599 they wouldn't necessarily do what their officers 00:54:51.599 --> 00:54:56.400 ordered them to do. It was just amazing how he 00:54:56.400 --> 00:55:00.039 rallied hundreds of people to do things without 00:55:00.039 --> 00:55:02.699 saying very much at all. He led and witnessed 00:55:02.699 --> 00:55:06.519 by example, and that's why you see just this 00:55:06.519 --> 00:55:09.079 burning intensity among the people who are still 00:55:09.079 --> 00:55:14.400 alive who knew him. They just saw... and we're 00:55:14.400 --> 00:55:18.199 just awestruck by it. They still are. Well, well 00:55:18.199 --> 00:55:20.659 said, Roy. Thank you very much. Real quick, give 00:55:20.659 --> 00:55:24.199 us how our listeners can get a copy of The Miracle 00:55:24.199 --> 00:55:30.980 of Father Capon. Kansas .com slash Capon. And 00:55:30.980 --> 00:55:33.320 you'll see an entry. You'll see this giant series 00:55:33.320 --> 00:55:40.250 that I did in 09. The series is now a book that's 00:55:40.250 --> 00:55:41.929 got a lot more information than it, but that's 00:55:41.929 --> 00:55:44.849 how you can order it, and you can see all the 00:55:44.849 --> 00:55:46.670 stories that we've done about this man. It's 00:55:46.670 --> 00:55:49.389 well worth reading. Thank you very much for being 00:55:49.389 --> 00:55:52.889 on the program, Roy. Thank you, Bob. You have 00:55:52.889 --> 00:56:00.329 a blessed day. Gentlemen? Tom? Dale? It's just 00:56:00.329 --> 00:56:04.070 a great story. I wanted to kind of jump in and 00:56:04.070 --> 00:56:06.510 say, There are chaplains from all the religions 00:56:06.510 --> 00:56:09.170 of the world that are in the military, and they 00:56:09.170 --> 00:56:12.510 all do such an amazing job. They throw caution 00:56:12.510 --> 00:56:15.070 to the wind. They go out to minister to the wounded. 00:56:15.869 --> 00:56:17.909 And they get wounded. And they get wounded. They 00:56:17.909 --> 00:56:20.530 get killed. And it doesn't make any difference 00:56:20.530 --> 00:56:22.150 what religion you are. They are there. They give 00:56:22.150 --> 00:56:25.739 you that peace that you need. Tom, last word. 00:56:25.780 --> 00:56:28.099 I just want to thank you for having me here today 00:56:28.099 --> 00:56:31.300 to witness and to take part in this discussion. 00:56:31.440 --> 00:56:33.519 It was beautiful. It really was. And you're going 00:56:33.519 --> 00:56:35.539 to be having a fundraiser very shortly. Next 00:56:35.539 --> 00:56:39.039 week, yeah. That's cool. Well, this is it folks. 00:56:39.219 --> 00:56:42.019 Bob Gould, wrapping up another wonderful program 00:56:42.019 --> 00:56:45.320 right here at Veterans Radio. You are dismissed.