You're listening to a special Best of Veterans
Radio program. This program first aired on April
6th, 2013. You can listen to this and other Veterans
Radio programs by going to Veterans Radio and
clicking on our archives. Now sit back and enjoy
this great and amazing story of Father Emile
Capon, Chaplain, United States Army, a servant
of God. All across America and around the world,
this is Veterans Radio. This is Veterans Radio.
And now your host for today's program, Bob Gould.
Today's Veterans Radio program is dedicated to
the men and women. who have served and are now
serving in the Republic of South Korea. We dedicate
this program to you. Yes, and good morning out
there and to our listening audience International
national listening right here to veterans radio
by the way This is a very very very all of our
programs are special, but this one is as a very
close one to our heart We've been following the
story of father Emil Capon and before we get
into that I'd like to introduce today in the
studio with me as guests first of all Today he's
my wingman. He's the co -pilot, right? Isn't
that what it would be there in the chopper? Yes,
absolutely. I'd be Peter Pilot today. Well, and
of course, you all recognize that voice, right?
That's Dale Throneberry. Let's hear it for Dale.
Good morning, everybody, and welcome to Veterans
Radio. And Bob, I'm really excited about this
program. I was trying to go back through our
archives and see the first time that we talked
about Father Capon, and I believe it was probably
somewhere around five years ago. It was the first
time you did a story about him. him and the way
it's developed over the last five years not only
the Medal of Honor but also the road to sainthood
which we'll talk about later on but this is I'm
fascinated and I congratulate you for putting
this program together already before we even
get it going before we even get it going that's
right and with me to my left is Mr. Tom Lowey
of the WDEO Development Department. Tom, welcome
to Veterans Radio. It's an honor to be here today.
Oh, it's an honor to have you too. I don't think
you sat on that side. No, I think this is the
first time on the program. Oh, yes, this is the
first time I've ever been on Veterans Radio.
Oh, well, we're very honored. Yeah. And again,
I'm very honored to be here as well. And this
is great. Yeah. Just so you folks know, I'm the
development director for Ave Maria Radio and
the Veterans Radio records right here in our
studio. So it's a double. So we're really pleased
to be here today. It was a time of change five
years after a great world war. No cell phones,
color, flat screen TVs, laptops, internet, or
social media. It was June 25, 1950. That's where
it all began, at a small village along the 38th
parallel in a country called Korea. Located between
China and Japan, Korea is known as the Belgium
of the East. uncharted land who knew the events
of that date that would begin to try the souls
of men and the soul of our country we were at
peace starting our lives in a brave new world
but to the soldiers about to begin battle in
a faraway place spiritual comfort rules father
Emil Capon of Pilsen, Kansas answered the call.
He was a priest of the Catholic faith. He wanted
to serve his fellow soldiers, and so it started.
Today we celebrate the sacrifice and compassion
of this remarkable man, Father Emil Capon. Yes,
welcome once again to Veterans Radio. And I'm
Bob Gould, going to be your host today. And on
the line with me, there we go, is Father John
Hotsy, who began all this, folks. Back about
six years ago, I received an email from Father
Hotsy. And that outlined the story of Father
Kapan. A priest who died in captivity, POW, in
the Korean War. And again, the Korean War is
known as a forgotten war. And probably this whole
story was buried somewhere. But there were people
keeping it alive besides Father Hotsy. Father
John Hotsy is the vicar of the Archdiocese of
Wichita. Father Hotsy, welcome once again to
Veterans Radio. Thank you. Good to be here. Well,
it's good to have you. Tell us. Tell us now.
Father Capon is about to receive the Medal of
Honor on April the 11th at a White House ceremony
and fill us in on that. I can't even begin to
give it justice and I'd like it to come from
you because you've been the one that has been
in the forefront with us. Well, I'm not really
the one that's responsible for it. I'd have to
say that the people that were responsible for
it were his fellow prisoners of war. Because
while I started working on it a few years ago,
they've been working on it since 1953. When the
prisoners got out of the prison camp, it was
prison camp number five that Father Capon was
interred in. The moment they got out of the prison
camp, they started telling whoever would listen
about the story of Father Capon. They were telling
both military officials and they were also telling
church officials about the great deeds that he
had done. and they're the ones that have kept
it up through the years. I mean, they've been
waiting for this for 60 -some years, telling
the story of Father Capon. The amazing part about
the story is while Father Capon was in the prison
camp for just seven months, these prisoners were
in that same prison camp for another two and
a half years after Father Capon had passed away.
And even after those two and a half years of
suffering through everything that you suffer
through in a prison camp, They were still remembering
fondly of Father Capon and the work that he had
done. Most of them will say that they would not
have made it out of the prison camp if it hadn't
been for Father Capon. And that sounds kind of
strange because, like I say, Father Capon died
about two and a half years before the war was
over and these men were freed from the prison
camp. But they'll all talk about Father Capon
instilling this hope in them, a hope that they
can survive, a hope that they will be able to
make it back to the United States and also make
it back to their country. So really these are
the men that had been telling the story of Father
Capon all these years, and I've just been able,
in the more recent years, I've just been able
to help out and help push that forward a little
bit, so that the other ones that have really
been promoting Father Capon's cause, both for
his sanctity, but also for him to receive the
Medal of Honor. Now, we just have a phone call,
and I'm going to interrupt you just for a moment.
Not the story, but just as a moment, we have
on the line with us Archbishop Timothy B. Broglio,
who was born in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. By the
way, Archbishop, I want to be sure and get that
on, received an email from a friend of mine,
Mr. Bob Crudie, who was in high school with you
and graduated with you at St. Ignatius, and he
said, go Wildcats. Well, that's very good. Thank
you for that. But I want to thank you for your
time. I know you're on a very busy schedule and
a tight schedule for giving us a call this morning.
Let me just read this very quickly. Born in Cleveland
Heights, Ohio, attended St. Anne Elementary School
in Cleveland Heights and of course St. Ignatius
High School. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in
Classics at Boston College and an STB in Theology
and a doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical
Georgian University in Rome Italy then there's
Tom Lowy just very yeah Yeah, there's all this
ring ring a bell for you. Well. Yes, this is
Tom Lowy I'm the development director here at
Ave Maria radio, and I just I was just listening
to You know Bob as you were reading the the credits
basically for for the archbishop. You know how
deeply Informed this man is it's really nice.
It's really nice to have him with all to have
him on the program But it goes a little further,
so let me just yeah To outline this, on November
19, 2007, Archbishop Broglio was named the fourth
Archbishop of the Military Services of the United
States Army and installed on January 25, 2008,
at the feast of the conversion of St. Paul. Welcome
to Veterans Radio, Archbishop. Well, thank you
very much. I appreciate the opportunity to speak
with you and speak with the listening audience.
Well, we'd like you to expand on your role with
Father Capon in this beautiful day, in this day
that we are celebrating, and we would like to
welcome you to go ahead and give your feelings
about this. Well, I think Father Hatsi has already
given a very cogent explanation of this honor,
and I think it's important to remember that what
Father Capon did for his fellow prisoners of
war was really an expression of who he was as
a Catholic priest and as a military chaplain.
He was clearly a man for others. He was clearly
a man who put into practice the de -attitudes.
He lived to make real what we say we believe,
and I think that's essential, and I think it's
also a good reminder of the fundamental values
which are Judeo -Christian values on which our
country is built. And Father Kippon is a magnificent
and a heroic expression of those values and reminds
us of what is at the basis of our nation and
why our nation has such a great and memorable
history. Absolutely, and I was speaking with
Tom this morning at breakfast and talked about
a gentleman I interviewed who was on the 6th
of June 1944, 0130 hours on a C -47 ready to
jump into the darkness. over France, and I asked
him, I said, what were you thinking about thinking
that? Well, maybe a pension, my dog, my family.
He said I didn't. He said I didn't want to let
my body down. Yeah, exactly. It wasn't about
all the glories, but it was about letting his
body down. And that's what it's like to be in
the service. And that's where Father Capon was
able to He was he was going to serve his fellow
man. It was that it was that calling it was there
It was his time. It was I believe No pun intended
to be ordained that it would be on that particular
time. Do you want to comment on that Archbishop?
Well, I think that's I think that's very true
even his own decision to to stay with His fellow
prisoners of war and to minister to them. I think
he He felt that was the logical expression of
who he was. Certainly, he had already served
as a chaplain during the Second World War, and
then to go back into active duty, I think he
was consumed by this desire to take care of his
fellow soldiers, obviously regardless of their
their faith conviction, regardless of who they
were, it was more an expression of who he was.
During these times, and there always have been
trying times in our country and in the Catholic
faith, etc., but it was his calling to not beat
a cliché, but it was there, and there was going
to be no stopping. This was this was it. This
was his epiphany. This was what he was Put on
put on this earth to do and he knew that he knew
this was the path that he was going to take That's
that's for sure and and he he rose to the occasion
I think he rose the occasion till till he drew
his last his last breath and that's a tremendous
tribute to to him, and it's true in his tribute
to the armed forces as well. He was not going
to let his buddy down. Buddy being his fellow
soldiers and fellow P .O. Tom, you have a comment.
Your Excellency, I'm not as familiar with the
story of Father Capone as others are, but I do
have a couple questions. You were talking about
his ministry. uh... in the camps themselves and
uh... uh... what what we know or do you know
anything specifically about that uh... for instance
here's one question right off the bat you know
was he able to celebrate mass today did the uh...
uh... did his uh... prison words to the allowed
type of a that type of a thing uh... what kind
of service was he actually doing within the uh...
within the prison camp to the best of my knowledge
he was able to celebrate mass whether that was
clandestine or not i don't know but i do know
that uh... In one of the books that I read about
him, there was the story of after his death,
one of the prison guards had a patent that he
used. And I think one of the prisoners took it
from him. So I mean that would seem to indicate
that he celebrated mass and was able to do that.
Father Hudson might have a more complete response
to that question. I do know that he certainly
would have ministered to the Catholic POWs to
the best of his ability and then of course took
care of the others as well. Well, yeah, thank
you. And it just seems to me that his service
there, his ministry, was memorable. You know,
there's a lot of, you know, whether they're Catholic
or not, the stories that come back are pretty
remarkable. They certainly are, and they indicated
that he was there for everyone, and even his
ability to pilfer extra foodstuff so that the
men kept up their strength to the best of his
ability, I think that's also a tribute to his
willingness to serve others. I'm sure he was
devoted to St. Dismas, the good thief. Well,
we have quite a guest list today. We want to
thank you, Archbishop Broglio, for taking time
in a very busy schedule to give us a call this
morning. I know it's very early, and I hope you've
had your cup of coffee and are ready to go and
give it a day. And thank you again for being
on the program. We'd like to have you come back.
Isn't that right, Dale? Absolutely. Let's see
if I get this right. the Center for Military
Services. We'll have to talk a little bit more
about that at a future program we'd like to have
you on. Once again, thank you for your time and
a very busy day and God bless. Ray Dao, and it
talks about Father Kapan being in the prisoner
of war camp. Of course, in North Korea, it's
freezing, the conditions are just horrible, and
we're not going to get into all that too much.
It happened to be the coldest winter in 100 years.
I know. It was one of those. But this man had
such compassion for his fellow prisoners that
every morning that he would round up a pan full
of hot water and come walking into the prison.
you know hooch that they were in cheerfully saying
coffee everyone and pour a little hot water in
everyone's bowl and they would pretend they were
drinking coffee and so his goal obviously there
was to keep the spirits up and you were in combat
Dale so you know how important that is to have
that to have that mental well -being and to have
that right I think the idea here and not never
being a POW of course but Just the idea of somebody
watching out for you. That would be so important,
I would think. All of the books and all of the
guests that we've had on Veterans Radio that
were POWs always talked about the spirituality
of their mindset, that they had to get into this
mindset that there was this power greater than
them, than they, that was watching over them.
And they all did this. In fact, who? quick promo.
Next week we're going to talk to a POW from the
Vietnam area and in his book he talks about that,
the power of his belief system. Father Hodsey,
would you like to comment on the idea of celebrating
Mass out there while he was a POW? Do you want
to give us some of those details? Well, sure.
Actually, I think he was only able to celebrate
Mass once when he was there in the prison camp
and that was soon after they were entured. And
I don't even know that he was able to complete
the mass, because at first when they were starting
to set up to celebrate mass, the guards kind
of ignored him. And then when they realized what
was going on, I think they either tried to stop
them or they didn't stop him from finishing the
celebration of mass. But that didn't stop Father
Capon, though. I mean, he continued to have prayer
services. And usually what they would do is,
or what he would do is as he was going around,
if he saw an opportunity to have like an impromptu
prayer service. He would just gather people around
that were there. And all of the men will say
that he took care of not only the Catholics,
but he took care of everybody. He said, it didn't
matter if you were Protestant, it didn't matter
if you were Jew, it didn't matter if you were
Muslim, it didn't matter if you didn't believe
in God. That one Father Capon was around, everybody
joined him in prayers. One man, a Protestant
man, kind of laughed about it. And he said, yeah,
he said, well, you're there in the hut. And he
said, here we were, Protestants, Jews. non -believers,
all praying the rosary with Father Kapan because
he was there bringing that sense of hope to us.
So he would have these impromptu prayer sessions,
but also I think probably what the men remember
more so. Soon after they were in the prison camp,
they separated the officers from the enlisted
men, and it was to do what you had just talked
about them doing. They wanted to break the morale
of the men. They knew that they could probably
break the morale of the enlisted men easier than
they could the officers because the officers
were older and the enlisted men being in their
late teens and early twenties. But that didn't
stop Father Capon from going to minister to the
enlisted men either because at night he would
get up and he would break into or break out of
the officer's compound and go into the enlisted
men's compound and they would talk about him
going from hut to hut. to check on the men. They
said that he would come in and he would first
check to see if everybody was doing all right
or if he needed to make sure a doctor got to
them the next day. If he had any food that he
had been able to steal or take from the rations
of the North Koreans or the Chinese, he would
pass out the food that he had for them. And one
guy said, Father Capon was known for having a
pipe. And they said that he would take his pipe
and he would line up his pipe and he said he
would take a puff of the pipe and then pass it
around so everybody could have a puff of the
pipe. He could have a little bit of tobacco.
I love it. Well, the funny part is one man was
talking to me and he said, father, he said, you
know, I think we had tobacco for the first couple
of weeks. But after that, he said, I know he
had ran out of tobacco, and he said, I have no
idea why you were smoking, but he said it wasn't
tobacco. Could have been what, but it was, you
know, and in a way that's like sharing communion.
Exactly. And it's a way of bonding. He was, I
don't want to use the word obsessed, he was driven.
There we go. He was driven. No, obsession. No,
no, we don't want to use. He was driven and there
was no stopping him, no matter what. The Chinese,
the North Koreans, there was no stopping him.
Comment on that, Father. Well, if I go back to
my story a little, I think it will demonstrate
it. The guys say that after he passed the pipe
around, he would say, well, let's pray. And he
said he would lead them in prayer, and then he
would go from that hut to the next hut. But he
would not stop. not stop doing that. I mean,
he would do it at night. One guy asked me, he
said, I don't even know if he ever slept. He
said, it seemed like he was always on the go,
always doing something, always having that drive
to go out and to help others. I did hear one
story. It was from a commanding officer of his
ones. And he said this was prior to them being
captured. And he said, oftentimes, he said, I
had time. He said, I had a hard time sleeping
at night. He said, I would be worried about what
was going on and what battles were going to be
coming our way and things. So he said he would
often get up and walk around the camp at night.
And he said more often than not, he said he would
go and he would see some light on in the hut
that sooner it had been on or sooner it had been
anybody there and he would go. And he said it
would be Father Capone and he'd be in there writing
letters home to the families of the soldiers
that had passed away. He said he just kept going
and kept doing things. And when you look at it
and you hear the stories, I mean, people that
helped me gather information that we sent over
to Rome. One man said, he said, well, he said,
I don't know how he was able to accomplish everything
that he had done. And this man said that he had
taken the time and he had made a timeline from
stories that we had heard of Father Capon. And
they're all things where he had done things right
after the another. And it was like, how could
you possibly do all of this stuff? So you're
right. I mean, he was a driven man, and he was
driven by his need to. help his fellow soldier.
No stopping, no stopping, nothing. Exactly. No,
not the weather, not the brutality. In fact,
that usually steals people even more to resist
tyranny and to resist discomfort and to prevail.
Right now, on the line, stay on the line please,
Father John. Okay, on the line with me. Bob reaches
over. It is Mr. Roy Vensel. He's a national award
-winning reporter. He's now working with the
Wichita Eagle, and he's written a couple of books.
The latest one, his second book, was published
last month by, we'll get this, St. Ignace Press.
I should probably spell that. T -I -U -S, and
it's called the miracle of Father Capante. You're
all going to want this. You have a veteran in
the family. You're going to want this. You're
going to want this book. In fact, I gave a copy
of it to Tom, and he's had a chance to look at
it. Isn't that a wonderful book? It really is.
It's quite beautiful. It's lavishly illustrated.
No doubt about it. And the amount of information
that's in it is very carefully put together.
This man has done a great job of telling this
story. So it's really good that he's here with
us today so we can talk to him. Absolutely. And
we have the author. So currently, he is with
the Wichita Eagle. He is the author of The Miracle
of Father Capone. It's also on DVD. Veterans
Radio, welcome to Roy Wenzel. Glad to be here.
Glad we could have you there all the way to Wichita.
And what's the weather like down there? Just
a little nice and windy and cool. Like it always
is. A cool April day in Kansas, yeah. I was down
there at Fort Riley, I know it well. Roy, why
don't you fill us in? We've only got a couple
minutes before the halfway break, but just give
us a little something about how you put all this
together, the DVD and the book. We started working
on it with one phone call to some priest named
John Hotsy. Yeah, we've heard of him. I had some
preconceived notions and didn't want to do the
story, but I went to that priest and he straightened
me out, at least on that. And we started working
on it. He was the one who told me, this really
got us going. I thought it was just another old
anniversary story that my editors were trying
to make me do. But when I called him at their
suggestion, I found out from him that the Medal
of Honor investigation had heated up again. And
the Sainthood investigation had heated up again
quite a bit. parallel investigations were really
getting very interesting. And the other preconceived
notion I had was, well, how am I going to do
this? It's been close to 60 years. Surely his
friends are, you know, a little too old to help
me out enough. And he assured me, no, he had
talked to them. A bunch of them were still alive,
still very vigorous, and still very irritated
that that there was no medal of honor for a guy
that they had seen up close do everything and
beyond that made him very deserving. So we spent
six months. My friend Travis Hine, a great photojournalist,
and I went all over the country and interviewed
some of these guys. It was probably one of the
more interesting and moving stories we've ever
worked on together or separately. And they filled
us in about what he did. And it took us six months.
We put that together. And then about a year and
a half or so later, St. Ignatius Press got in
touch with us and said, you know, we kind of
like your story. Would you mind turning it into
a book? And I thought about that really long
and hard. And then, OK, fine. We now have a book
with a lot more information than we had in the
2009 story. And now all of this is happening
just at the same time the book is coming out,
so we're kind of pleased with that. Well, we'll
get to that in just a moment. I can't believe
the timing on this. This guy is really good,
folks, right? We've got 20 seconds before we
go to our halftime break, so Roy, stay on the
line, yes, and we'll want to give that information.
Now, you can buy the DVD and the book, and we're
going to go to a very, very quick... break right
nina and she's pushing all kinds of buttons five
four three you're listening to veterans radio
don't go away if you have a v a claim denied
by the board of veterans appeals contact legal
help for veterans at one eight hundred six nine
three four eight zero zero their experts in handling
cases before the u .s. court of appeals for veterans
claims their number again one eight hundred six
nine three four eight zero zero like that. I
was listening to that this morning and I said
that's going to be so appropriate because it
is a new beginning. That's from a CD called Renew
and it really does make you feel that way. That's
exactly what we're doing. We're renewing life.
Story of Father Emil Capon. And on the line with
me is Father John Hotsy, the vicar of the Archdiocese
of Wichita, and Mr. Roy Wenzel, who is a national
award -winning reporter with the Wichita Eagle.
Roy, I know that when you were doing your research
for the book and for the DVD, you did meet with
those that were. right there with Father Capon
and why don't you very briefly tell us what that
was like to meet with these people. Well, I had
a lot of experience in the past interviewing
veterans of all the wars back to World War II
and they're very tough. Soldiers are usually
they don't want to talk very much about these
things. They don't... want to talk about the
terrible things as much, because they just don't
think anybody will get it, who's never had to
do it. And some of them are traumatized in one
way or another, and they just don't want to go
there. So they just try to go on with their lives.
But in this case, they had gone through terrible
things, these guys, and they didn't really want
to talk about themselves. They did. Really vehemently
want to talk about him because they walked out
of that camp in 1953 determined to try to get
somebody's attention and and Make make this ceremony
that's finally going to happen this coming week
to make it happen. It took them 60 years They're
a little irritated with that But but they did
it so it was It was very compelling to talk to
these guys Well, we have one of them on the air
right now about standing by Mr. Bill Funchus
Mr. William Bill Funchus who was with the 24th
Infantry Division in Korea he was one of the
ones thrown right literally into the breach the
soldiers to stop the onslaught of the Republic
of North Korea and and then the Chinese came
in in November of 1950 and that was when Mr.
Funchus, along with thousands of other soldiers,
airmen, et cetera, were captured, and Father
Capon was also November of 1950. Bill Funchus,
welcome to Veterans Radio. Thank you. I'm glad
to be here, sir. Well, we're glad to have you.
And please tell us, tell us, Father Capon, there
he is standing there, and you have a whole chance
now to... to describe that. What was his stature?
What was he like? Father Capon was a great man.
He always stood out in the crowd. And I recall
the first time that I really saw him. We were
on the march together, but I was wounded and
I was the last one in the column. And so I did
not meet him on the march, but sometime later
in the camp, I saw a man melting snow, and I
walked over to see what he was doing, and he
introduced himself, his father, Emil Capon, and
he asked me if I would like to have a drink of
water. And I said, yes, sir, I have not had any
water to drink since the day I was captured,
and it's been three months. And so he gave me
the first drink of water that I had after I was
captured. But he was a great man. He was always
taking risks and chances in order to help someone
else. He would go out. He'd scrounge things that
we could use. He would scrounge food for us.
He would attend to the wounds of the sick and
the wounded. And he's a very caring individual.
And I want to say again, he was perhaps the greatest
man that I've ever met. Well, that's really saying
something Tom you're shaking your head after
hearing something like that. Oh, it's very moving
to hear stories of this of this man's goodness
and and how The simple expression of goodness,
you know a drink of water how that can make a
sip of water All right now how that changes a
man's life in a positive way, you know taking
care of the wound Just just looking and seeing
that somebody is in need. So, you know, thank
you for your testimony, sir I mean, this is this
is terrific to hear And I'm sure that there was
a very difficult time in your life, too I'm absolutely
positive of that. So yeah, I'd like to know more.
I really would you know, well bill go ahead and
tell Tell us a little bit more. Give us some
more stories of Camp 5. Well, at the time he
gave me my drink of water, the Chinese and North
Koreans did not realize I was an officer. And
sometime later they moved me into the officer
compound and I observed Father Capon from time
to time slipping across the barbed wire fence
at great risk to himself. and he would go over
into the enlisted men's compound and take care
of their needs. He would offer prayers, not only
to the Catholics, but to the non -Catholics,
to Protestants like myself, and we were very
appreciative of that. Now, Father Capon was living
in a separate room from me at first, but later
on, The Chinese and the North Koreans apparently
wanted to isolate Father Capon from the Catholics,
so they threw him into the room in my shack.
There was no place for Father Capon in the room,
so I made everybody move over and I gave Father
Capon the place that I was using on the floor.
It was about 15 inches wide. And so I slept and
spent my time lying on the floor beside Father
Capon for the next five or six weeks. Now when
he came in, he had a blood clot apparently on
his leg and he could not walk. And so I took
it upon myself and sometimes with the help of
other POWs to take care of him. Father Capon's
daily needs. We were able to find in the rubble
the top half of a destroyed pot -bellied stove
made out of cast iron. Father Capon showed us
how to make these little pans using tin, so we
made a... little pan, we put it inside that pot
-bellied stove and we used that for his toilet.
He had trouble eating, so sometimes we had to
spoon feed Father Capon. But various men would
come into the room from time to time to speak
to Father Capon or ask Father Capon to pray for
them. and Father Capon always responded. And
it was not only the Catholics coming in, but
it was also the non -Catholics coming in to consult
with Father Capon. And I might point out that
he was in my room for about five weeks, all of
April it seems like, and maybe a week or two
in May of 1951. And then one day, the Chinese
came in suddenly. They just burst in, four or
five or six of them, and they said, we are taking
Kapan to the hospital. And those were the worst
words that I could have possibly have heard.
They referred to the building on top of the hill
as the hospital. We called it the death house
because whoever went into the death house very
few came out. Mike Dow came out for one. But
we knew what was going to happen. And we tried
our best to prevent the Chinese from taking Father
Kapon out of my room. I begged them, I told them
I would take care of him, but they wanted no
part of that. The Catholics came in, they raised
the rukus with the Chinese, trying everything
humanly possible to prevent them from taking
him up to that building on top of the hill. But
they took Father Capon anyway. Some of the Catholics
had the privilege of carrying him from my room
up to the... so -called hospital or what we call
the death house. And he was up there for a week
or two and finally we got word that Father Capon
had died. And it hit us all, Catholics, non -Catholics,
just like a ton of bricks because we all had
so much love and respect for him. It was a great
loss to him. And it's a loss that I've endured
ever since I first met him back in 1951. He was
a great man. Now you survived. You came back
from Korea. And in closing, how did that affect
the rest of your life, that experience with Father
Kapa? Well, I was determined... to live a righteous
and a religious type of life. I wanted to respect
my fellow man. I wanted to help my fellow man
just as much as I possibly could. But it taught
me a great deal about compassion, and I'm trying
to understand other people's viewpoints. And
it encouraged me to try to help other people
any way that I could. Well, I know that there's
something that you and I talked about the other
day, that you get an opportunity now to tell
our veteran audience and our non -veteran audience
to recite the 23rd Psalm. And in closing for
your segment, would you please do that, Bill,
the one that you recited so well on the DVD.
Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Bill Funchus. I was
in a room on one occasion with 11 other seriously
wounded POWs. At the time I was captured, I hid
the little pocket Bible that I had. And after
we got to the first temporary POW camp, I took
the Bible out of my pocket, and each day, for
15 or 20 minutes each day, I would read from
the Bible. And I always would start off by reading
the 23rd Psalm. And the reason I used the 23rd
Psalm is because when I was growing up in South
Carolina, my mother always told me, In times
of trouble, you should read the 23rd Psalm because
it will give you peace and comfort. And anyway,
I asked the men one day, after I had the Bible,
would you like for me to read? And they said,
yes, please read. And I read to them, started
off with the 23rd Psalm. The Lord is my shepherd.
I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in
green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still
waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in
the paths of righteousness for his namesake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou
art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort
me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence
of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with
oil. My cup runneth over. Surely goodness and
mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Thank you, sir. Thank you very much, Bill, and
God bless you, and you have a great day. Thank
you so much Bob for having me a part of this
program. Are you a veteran or a military spouse
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.S. Small Business Administration Office of Veteran
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from the U .S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Oh, we're back. And after that, that was really
something. What do you think of that, Tom? Well,
as a guy who's been in radio for a long time,
that was good radio. That was good radio because,
you know... This man told us a story. He was
right there. He was right there. We followed
him. We sat on every word that he said, you know,
because it was true. He was so articulate. It
was like it happened yesterday in his mind, in
the backroads of his mind, and there it was.
And also, for him to end in prayer, I thought,
was really quite beautiful. And I'm glad that
you asked him to do that, too, Bob. I think that
was really great. Father Capone has had an impact
that... is stretching even now. I mean, how many
people are hearing us right now? We don't know.
Okay, but his saintliness, this goodness that
he had in his life was given to these men, and
these men are now changed for that. And now,
because of this show that we're doing, other
people can hear it, and maybe their lives will
be changed as well. And I thought it was beautiful
that he decided to go and do the 23rd Psalm,
because it's so... It's so beautiful, so sweet,
and so true, and it brings us into the heart
of God's love. So I just thought this was a very,
very good radio, and I'm glad you asked me that
question. And the 23rd Psalm was something he
recited every day. I'm sure he did. Every day,
as his mother said, as a time of trouble. Dale,
you've been... I was taken aback by that, because
I time tripped back. My sister had given me a
small... Bible to take to Vietnam with me. And
the 23rd Psalm had always been important in our
family. And periodically, I mean you don't know
me as being very spiritual I don't think, but
periodically while I was there I would pull out
that little Bible and read the 23rd Psalm because
it is the most powerful I think some that's in
the Bible and you know there are people that
would read that there are people that would Change
words and so on and so forth But the message
was always in the same that you were you were
protected by something whether you believed or
not you always had this this Sensation that something
was watching over you that you were protected
on that particular time and then and it was just
I had to pull away from the microphone while
he was reading that. And again, thinking again,
this man is probably in his 80s at least. Middle
80s, yeah. And, you know, all of those men who
carry this story with them from Father Kapan
and the impact that this man had on... Sixty
years later. I know. Well, you know, we were
talking about when he was describing the room.
We've had other Korean POWs on and they describe
the same thing, that they're in a room, whatever
the size of the room is, each of you had about
a foot. That was it. They would cram so many
of you in there that you couldn't even roll over
without, you know, bumping into the other person.
You all kind of slept, you know, right next to
each other like you're, you know, best friends.
And that any time that the the guards would come
in and take you to the death room or the death
building, the hospital, the hospital was that
that, you know, metaphor for that's it. You're
done. They didn't come back. A lot of times I
didn't even reach the hospital, and the stories
and the people that we've talked to. So can you
imagine that they're taking this spiritual leader
away from them, and they knew what was happening?
I'm sorry. People have got to read this. If you
can ever get a hold of this thing about Father
Capon by Mike Dow, who he mentioned, he talks
about how he had a little... gold cup that he
would hold for the bread for the communion, I
guess. And that was their most prized possession
that he left to them. And that they would continue
on. And as he was being taken out on a litter,
he told these men in this room, he says, keep
going, keep this going. Even though I'm gone,
you can do this. And that meant survival. Because
because all the all the physical discomfort and
stress You can you can get through that you can
get through that if your mind if your mind is
with God and spiritually Father Hadzi, I know
you've had a chance to listen to all this. We've
only got a few minutes left I'd like you to comment
and where does father Capone go from? He's receiving
the Medal of Honor and what does the future lie
for father Capone? Well, I think a final comment.
When we look at what Father Capon did, I mean,
the acts that he did were very simple acts. I
mean, helping feeding those that were hungry,
giving clothes to those, trying to provide clean
water. But Father Capon was able to do it under
extraordinary circumstances. And just lately,
I've been thinking about what it would be like
to be in that prison camp and the fellow prisoners
and stuff. And I think this is kind of what sets
me apart and I think probably most of us apart
from the greatness of Father Capon. I'm sitting
here thinking, when I get up and I'm struggling
or when there's a bad period of time, I get up
and I think, well, how am I going to survive
this day? And I think probably in the prison
camp, many men had that same thought, how am
I going to survive during this day or how am
I going to live through this day? I think Father
Capon got up in the morning and thought, how
am I going to help others survive this day? And
I think that's probably what sets him apart from,
I know it would certainly be, but I think probably
from most of us. I mean, while most of us would
be thinking about ourselves, Father Capon thought
about others and how he could help others. And
ultimately, I mean, he gave his very life in
that service. In terms of his continuing on in
the process after the Medal of Honor, certainly
the Medal of Honor will bring attention to to
his cause for sainthood, one of the things that
the Congregation for Saints over in Rome looks
for in this decision of naming somebody a saint
is the cult, and I mean a cult in a good way,
a cult in that people recognize the goodness
of this man and they recognize the fact that
he is somebody who led a life of exemplary service
so that we strive to follow the example that
they set. ultimately the saints are ones that
follow the example of Christ and set that example
of Christ for others. So ultimately, when we
look at the lives of the saints, they are leading
us to Christ or leading us to follow the example
of Christ. So I think certainly that his being
awarded the Medal of Honor will bring attention
to him and have people realize that, yes, it
would be a good idea to follow his example, to
try to instill hope in others, to try to... to
bring the love that others have for them, or
the love that God has for us, and share that
love with others, which is certainly what Father
Capone did throughout his entire life. In terms
of the process for sainted, one of the, well,
we have all of the documents over in Rome, so
they are considering those documents in Rome,
and the process of sainted for his to be ultimately
named a saint. We will have to prove that there
were certain miracles worked through his intercession,
meaning that people prayed to Father Capon, asking
Father Capon to pray for their needs also. We're
currently working on a couple alleged miracles
to see if we can prove that those healings were
miraculous events or events that had no scientific
reason for happening. We're working on, like
I say, proving two of those. Hopefully we'll
be done with those by this summer. We'll have
that information over in Rome also, and hopefully
that will be an impetus for the movement on his
cause for St. Titus also. And we'll also be covering
that on Veterans Radio. Thank you very much,
Father Hadzi. I know you've got a busy day today
there in Wichita. God bless, and we will be talking
to you shortly. Thank you for having me. Okay,
Roy, you're there. We've got about a minute and
a half to give you. How about some last thoughts?
Well, what I got out of a couple of years of
talking to his friends. He's a very unusual man.
I think some of the descriptions that you hear
about him tend to tip over into cliches. Yes,
he was good. Yes, he was holy. But I think he
put on a clinic for a little less than a year
in Korea about not only how to lead, but how
to witness Christianity. What I mean by that
is he just didn't talk about it very much. He
didn't say much to anybody. I mean, that was
kind of his natural personality anyway, but he
didn't go around judging people or jabbing fingers
and telling people that they need to go to mass
or else. His way of witnessing Christianity and
leadership was if he saw somebody dig in a latrine,
he went over and started digging with him. If
the guy asked him, well, who are you? He wouldn't
necessarily say, I'm Chaplain or Father Capon.
He would say, I'm Capon. How you doing? He ran
across the battlefields of many battles, rescuing
the wounded. People saw him do these things.
And it kind of snuck up on them that this guy
is a chaplain. He didn't always evoke that. And
so when things really fell apart and they needed
a leader, They would do what he asked, where
they wouldn't necessarily do what their officers
ordered them to do. It was just amazing how he
rallied hundreds of people to do things without
saying very much at all. He led and witnessed
by example, and that's why you see just this
burning intensity among the people who are still
alive who knew him. They just saw... and we're
just awestruck by it. They still are. Well, well
said, Roy. Thank you very much. Real quick, give
us how our listeners can get a copy of The Miracle
of Father Capon. Kansas .com slash Capon. And
you'll see an entry. You'll see this giant series
that I did in 09. The series is now a book that's
got a lot more information than it, but that's
how you can order it, and you can see all the
stories that we've done about this man. It's
well worth reading. Thank you very much for being
on the program, Roy. Thank you, Bob. You have
a blessed day. Gentlemen? Tom? Dale? It's just
a great story. I wanted to kind of jump in and
say, There are chaplains from all the religions
of the world that are in the military, and they
all do such an amazing job. They throw caution
to the wind. They go out to minister to the wounded.
And they get wounded. And they get wounded. They
get killed. And it doesn't make any difference
what religion you are. They are there. They give
you that peace that you need. Tom, last word.
I just want to thank you for having me here today
to witness and to take part in this discussion.
It was beautiful. It really was. And you're going
to be having a fundraiser very shortly. Next
week, yeah. That's cool. Well, this is it folks.
Bob Gould, wrapping up another wonderful program
right here at Veterans Radio. You are dismissed.