WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.660 Today's Veterans Radio program is dedicated to 00:00:03.660 --> 00:00:06.740 the men and women who have served and are now 00:00:06.740 --> 00:00:11.060 serving in the Republic of South Korea. We dedicate 00:00:11.060 --> 00:00:30.969 this program to you. From the studios of Ave 00:00:30.969 --> 00:00:34.009 Maria Radio in Ann Arbor, this is Veterans Radio. 00:00:34.630 --> 00:00:43.350 And now, here's your host, Bob Gould. Yes, and 00:00:43.350 --> 00:00:46.310 good morning out there and to our listening audience, 00:00:47.049 --> 00:00:48.689 international, national, listening right here 00:00:48.689 --> 00:00:52.159 to Veterans Radio. By the way, this is a very, 00:00:52.340 --> 00:00:54.140 very, very, all of our programs are special, 00:00:54.159 --> 00:00:56.799 but this one is a very close one to our heart. 00:00:56.899 --> 00:01:00.020 We've been following the story of Father Emile 00:01:00.020 --> 00:01:03.479 Capon. And before we get into that, I'd like 00:01:03.479 --> 00:01:06.780 to introduce today in the studio with me as guest, 00:01:07.180 --> 00:01:11.959 first of all, today he's my wingman. He's the 00:01:11.959 --> 00:01:14.299 co -pilot, right? Isn't that what it would be 00:01:14.299 --> 00:01:17.180 there in the chopper? Yes, absolutely. I'd be 00:01:17.180 --> 00:01:20.000 Peter pilot today. Well, of course you all recognize 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:22.659 that voice, right? That's Dale Throneberry. Let's 00:01:22.659 --> 00:01:26.439 hear it for Dale. Good morning, everybody and 00:01:26.439 --> 00:01:28.340 welcome to Veterans Radio and Bob. I'm really 00:01:28.340 --> 00:01:30.400 excited about this program I was trying to go 00:01:30.400 --> 00:01:32.219 back through our archives and see the first time 00:01:32.219 --> 00:01:35.000 that we talked about Father Capon and I believe 00:01:35.000 --> 00:01:36.920 was probably somewhere around five years ago 00:01:36.920 --> 00:01:40.379 was the first time you did a story about him 00:01:40.379 --> 00:01:44.400 and the way it's developed over the last five 00:01:44.400 --> 00:01:47.379 years not only the Medal of Honor but also the 00:01:47.379 --> 00:01:50.019 road to sainthood which we'll talk about later 00:01:50.019 --> 00:01:53.560 on but this is I'm fascinated and I congratulate 00:01:53.560 --> 00:01:55.379 you for putting this program together already 00:01:55.379 --> 00:01:57.459 before we even get it going before we even get 00:01:57.459 --> 00:01:59.840 it going that's right and with me to my left 00:01:59.840 --> 00:02:06.180 is Mr. Tom Lowey of the WDEO Development Department. 00:02:06.500 --> 00:02:08.379 Tom, welcome to Veterans Radio. It's an honor 00:02:08.379 --> 00:02:10.639 to be here today. It's an honor to have you too. 00:02:10.639 --> 00:02:14.060 I don't think you sat on that side. Is this the 00:02:14.060 --> 00:02:16.599 first time on the program? Yes, this is the first 00:02:16.599 --> 00:02:19.139 time I've ever been on Veterans Radio. We're 00:02:19.139 --> 00:02:22.360 very honored. Again, I'm very honored to be here 00:02:22.360 --> 00:02:25.020 as well. This is great. Just so you folks know, 00:02:25.060 --> 00:02:27.400 I'm the development director for Ave Maria Radio. 00:02:28.419 --> 00:02:31.400 Veterans Radio records right here in our studio, 00:02:31.479 --> 00:02:33.550 so it's a double honor. for us and we're really 00:02:33.550 --> 00:02:35.270 pleased to be here today. Well, very much having 00:02:35.270 --> 00:02:39.509 you here today. Okay, Nina in the control room. 00:02:39.689 --> 00:02:42.650 There she is. And Maria. Maria's busy tweeting 00:02:42.650 --> 00:02:47.789 and twittering and whatever else that all those 00:02:47.789 --> 00:02:50.389 folks do. Twittering, tweeting, and going on 00:02:50.389 --> 00:02:53.509 Facebook and all that other business. And oh, 00:02:53.710 --> 00:02:55.810 okay, right. Well, we're not going to go to our 00:02:55.810 --> 00:02:59.189 best... And yet, we still have to pay the bill, 00:02:59.930 --> 00:03:03.810 so let's hit it right now for a little word from 00:03:03.810 --> 00:03:07.569 WDO. It was a time of change five years after 00:03:07.569 --> 00:03:12.090 a great world war. No cell phones, color, flat 00:03:12.090 --> 00:03:16.430 screen TVs, laptops, internet, or social media. 00:03:17.330 --> 00:03:21.189 It was June 25, 1950. That's where it all began 00:03:21.189 --> 00:03:25.539 at a small village along the 38th parallel. in 00:03:25.539 --> 00:03:29.520 a country called Korea. Located between China 00:03:29.520 --> 00:03:33.319 and Japan, Korea is known as the Belgium of the 00:03:33.319 --> 00:03:38.139 East. Uncharted land. Who knew the events of 00:03:38.139 --> 00:03:41.199 that date that would begin to try the souls of 00:03:41.199 --> 00:03:46.199 men and the soul of our country. We were at peace, 00:03:47.199 --> 00:03:50.840 starting our lives in a brave new world. But 00:03:50.840 --> 00:03:54.830 to the soldiers, about to begin battle. in a 00:03:54.830 --> 00:04:00.610 faraway place. Spiritual comfort rules. Father 00:04:00.610 --> 00:04:04.969 Emil Capon of Pilsen, Kansas answered the call. 00:04:06.169 --> 00:04:09.710 He was a priest of the Catholic faith. He wanted 00:04:09.710 --> 00:04:13.250 to service fellow soldiers and so it started. 00:04:14.750 --> 00:04:17.470 Today we celebrate the sacrifice and compassion 00:04:17.470 --> 00:04:39.329 of this remarkable man. Emile Capone Yes, welcome 00:04:39.329 --> 00:04:42.709 once again to veterans radio and I'm Bob Gould 00:04:42.709 --> 00:04:45.709 gonna be your host today and on the line with 00:04:45.709 --> 00:04:50.889 me There we go as father John Hotsy who began 00:04:50.889 --> 00:04:54.470 all this folks Back about six years ago, I received 00:04:54.470 --> 00:04:58.970 an email from Father Hotsy, and that outlined 00:04:58.970 --> 00:05:02.709 the story of Father Kapan, a priest who died 00:05:02.709 --> 00:05:05.670 in captivity, POW, in the Korean War. And again, 00:05:05.810 --> 00:05:08.649 the Korean War is known as the Forgotten War, 00:05:08.649 --> 00:05:11.310 and probably this whole story was buried somewhere. 00:05:11.709 --> 00:05:14.769 But there were people keeping it alive besides 00:05:14.769 --> 00:05:18.470 Father Hotsy. Father John Hotsy is the vicar 00:05:18.470 --> 00:05:23.019 of the Archdiocese of Wichita. Father Hotsy, 00:05:23.259 --> 00:05:25.980 welcome once again to Veterans Radio. Thank you, 00:05:25.980 --> 00:05:28.100 good to be here. Well, it's good to have you. 00:05:28.120 --> 00:05:32.699 Tell us, tell us now, Father Capon is about to 00:05:32.699 --> 00:05:36.120 receive the Medal of Honor on April the 11th 00:05:36.120 --> 00:05:40.300 at a White House ceremony. And fill us in on 00:05:40.300 --> 00:05:43.459 that. I can't even begin to give it justice and 00:05:43.459 --> 00:05:45.800 I'd like it to come from you because you've been 00:05:45.800 --> 00:05:50.019 the one that has been in the forefront with us. 00:05:51.780 --> 00:05:54.100 Well, I'm not really the one that's responsible 00:05:54.100 --> 00:05:56.139 for it. I'd have to say that the people that 00:05:56.139 --> 00:05:58.639 were responsible for it were his fellow prisoners 00:05:58.639 --> 00:06:01.800 of war. Because while I started working on it 00:06:01.800 --> 00:06:04.120 a few years ago, they've been working on it since 00:06:04.120 --> 00:06:07.959 1953. When the prisoners got out of the prison 00:06:07.959 --> 00:06:10.500 camp, it was prison camp number five that Father 00:06:10.500 --> 00:06:14.439 Capon was interred in, the moment they got out 00:06:14.439 --> 00:06:16.339 of the prison camp, they started telling whoever 00:06:16.339 --> 00:06:19.040 would listen about the story of Father Capon. 00:06:19.290 --> 00:06:21.930 They are telling both military officials and 00:06:21.930 --> 00:06:24.490 they're also telling church officials about the 00:06:24.490 --> 00:06:26.970 great deeds that he had done. And they're the 00:06:26.970 --> 00:06:28.589 ones that have kept it up to the years. I mean, 00:06:28.610 --> 00:06:31.829 they've been waiting for this for 60 some years, 00:06:32.550 --> 00:06:35.670 telling the story of Father Capon. The amazing 00:06:35.670 --> 00:06:37.949 part about the story is while Father Capon was 00:06:37.949 --> 00:06:40.769 in the prison camp for just seven months, these 00:06:40.769 --> 00:06:43.529 prisoners were in that same prison camp for another 00:06:43.529 --> 00:06:46.250 two and a half years after Father Capon had passed 00:06:46.250 --> 00:06:49.399 away. And even after those two and a half years 00:06:49.399 --> 00:06:51.740 of suffering through everything that you suffer 00:06:51.740 --> 00:06:55.060 through as prison camp, they were still remembering 00:06:55.060 --> 00:06:57.160 fondly of Father Capon and the work that he had 00:06:57.160 --> 00:07:00.120 done. Most of them will say that they would not 00:07:00.120 --> 00:07:02.399 have made it out of the prison camp if it hadn't 00:07:02.399 --> 00:07:04.779 been for Father Capon. And that sounds kind of 00:07:04.779 --> 00:07:06.620 strange because like I say, Father Capon died 00:07:06.620 --> 00:07:08.459 about two and a half years before the war was 00:07:08.459 --> 00:07:11.199 over and these men were freed from the prison 00:07:11.199 --> 00:07:14.899 camp. They'll all talk about Father Capon instilling 00:07:14.899 --> 00:07:17.860 this hope in them, a hope that they can survive, 00:07:18.459 --> 00:07:20.100 a hope that they will be able to make it back 00:07:20.100 --> 00:07:22.060 to the United States and also make it back to 00:07:22.060 --> 00:07:24.660 their country. So really, these are the men that 00:07:24.660 --> 00:07:26.620 had been telling the story of Father Capon all 00:07:26.620 --> 00:07:29.959 these years. And I've just been able, in the 00:07:29.959 --> 00:07:31.399 more recent years, I've just been able to help 00:07:31.399 --> 00:07:34.720 out and help push that forward a little bit. 00:07:35.199 --> 00:07:37.740 So the other ones that have really been promoting 00:07:37.740 --> 00:07:41.240 Fr. Capon's cause, both for his sanctity, but 00:07:41.240 --> 00:07:44.199 also for him to receive the Medal of Honor. Now, 00:07:44.579 --> 00:07:47.339 we just have a phone call and I'm going to interrupt 00:07:47.339 --> 00:07:49.699 you just for a moment, not the story, but just 00:07:49.699 --> 00:07:53.040 as a moment we have on the line with us Archbishop 00:07:53.040 --> 00:07:57.560 Timothy B. Broglio, who was born in Cleveland 00:07:57.560 --> 00:08:01.410 Heights, Ohio. By the way, Archbishop, I want 00:08:01.410 --> 00:08:04.250 to be sure and get that. I received an email 00:08:04.250 --> 00:08:07.269 from a friend of mine, Mr. Bob Crudie, who was 00:08:07.269 --> 00:08:10.509 in high school with you and graduated with you 00:08:10.509 --> 00:08:15.209 at St. Ignatius, and he said, go Wildcats. Well, 00:08:15.209 --> 00:08:19.740 that's very good. Thank you for that. But I want 00:08:19.740 --> 00:08:21.639 to thank you for your time. I know you're on 00:08:21.639 --> 00:08:24.240 a very busy schedule and a tight schedule for 00:08:24.240 --> 00:08:26.319 giving us a call this morning. Let me just read 00:08:26.319 --> 00:08:28.579 this very quickly. Born in Cleveland Heights, 00:08:28.579 --> 00:08:32.279 Ohio. Attended St. Anne Elementary School in 00:08:32.279 --> 00:08:34.460 Cleveland Heights and of course St. Ignatius 00:08:34.460 --> 00:08:38.259 High School. Earned a Bachelor of Arts in Classics 00:08:38.259 --> 00:08:42.620 at Boston College and an STB in Theology and 00:08:42.620 --> 00:08:46.240 a doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical 00:08:46.240 --> 00:08:51.769 Georgian University in Rome, Italy. And there's 00:08:51.769 --> 00:08:54.509 Tom Lowy just very, yeah, yeah. Does all this 00:08:54.509 --> 00:08:57.370 ring a bell for you? Well, yes. This is Tom Lowy. 00:08:57.590 --> 00:08:59.370 I'm the development director here at Ave Maria 00:08:59.370 --> 00:09:03.649 Radio. And I was just listening to, you know, 00:09:03.690 --> 00:09:05.870 Bob, as you were reading the credits basically 00:09:05.870 --> 00:09:10.909 for the Archbishop, you know, how deeply informed 00:09:10.909 --> 00:09:12.690 this man is. It's really nice. It's really nice 00:09:12.690 --> 00:09:14.690 to have him with us. Oh, to have him on the program. 00:09:14.690 --> 00:09:16.529 But it goes a little further. So let me just, 00:09:16.669 --> 00:09:20.789 yeah. To outline this, on November 19, 2007, 00:09:21.129 --> 00:09:24.490 Archbishop Broglio was named the fourth Archbishop 00:09:24.490 --> 00:09:27.409 of the Military Services of the United States 00:09:27.409 --> 00:09:32.470 Army and installed on January 25, 2008 at the 00:09:32.470 --> 00:09:35.169 feast of the conversion of St. Paul. Welcome 00:09:35.169 --> 00:09:37.970 to Veterans Radio, Archbishop. Well, thank you 00:09:37.970 --> 00:09:40.830 very much. I appreciate the opportunity to speak 00:09:40.830 --> 00:09:43.190 with you and speak with the listening audience. 00:09:43.690 --> 00:09:46.789 Well, we'd like you to expand on your role with 00:09:46.789 --> 00:09:50.429 Father Capon and this beautiful day and this 00:09:50.429 --> 00:09:53.690 day that we are celebrating and we would like 00:09:53.690 --> 00:09:56.649 to welcome you to go ahead and give your, give 00:09:56.649 --> 00:10:00.009 your feelings about this. Well, I think Father 00:10:00.009 --> 00:10:04.690 Hatsi has already given a very cogent explanation 00:10:04.690 --> 00:10:08.789 of this honor and I think it's important to remember 00:10:08.789 --> 00:10:13.289 that what Father Capon did for his fellow prisoners 00:10:13.289 --> 00:10:17.929 of war was really an expression of who he was 00:10:17.929 --> 00:10:22.549 as a Catholic priest and as a military chaplain. 00:10:22.549 --> 00:10:26.909 He was clearly a man for others. He was clearly 00:10:26.909 --> 00:10:33.190 a man who put into practice the Beatitudes. He 00:10:33.190 --> 00:10:42.840 lived to make real what we say we believe and 00:10:42.840 --> 00:10:46.179 I think that's essential and I think it's also 00:10:46.179 --> 00:10:50.659 a good reminder of the fundamental values which 00:10:50.659 --> 00:10:53.379 are Judeo -Christian values on which our country 00:10:53.379 --> 00:10:58.840 is built and Father Kippon is a magnificent and 00:10:58.840 --> 00:11:03.559 heroic expression of those values and reminds 00:11:03.559 --> 00:11:08.159 us of What is at the basis of our nation and 00:11:08.159 --> 00:11:12.659 why our nation has such a great and memorable 00:11:12.659 --> 00:11:17.220 history? Absolutely, and I was speaking with 00:11:17.220 --> 00:11:20.220 Tom this morning at breakfast and talked about 00:11:20.220 --> 00:11:23.799 a gentleman I interviewed who was on the 6th 00:11:23.799 --> 00:11:28.879 of June 1944, 0130 hours on a C -47 ready to 00:11:28.879 --> 00:11:34.210 jump into the darkness. over France, and I asked 00:11:34.210 --> 00:11:36.789 him, I said, what were you thinking about thinking 00:11:36.789 --> 00:11:39.429 that? Well, maybe a pension, my dog, my family. 00:11:39.429 --> 00:11:44.289 He said I didn't want to let my body down. It 00:11:44.289 --> 00:11:51.509 wasn't about all the glories, but it was about 00:11:51.509 --> 00:11:53.669 letting his body down, and that's what it's like 00:11:53.669 --> 00:11:56.190 to be in the service, and that's where Father 00:11:56.190 --> 00:12:01.230 Capon was able to He was going to serve his fellow 00:12:01.230 --> 00:12:04.610 man. It was that calling. It was there. It was 00:12:04.610 --> 00:12:08.649 his time. It was, I believe, no pun intended, 00:12:08.769 --> 00:12:12.789 to be ordained that it would be on that particular 00:12:12.789 --> 00:12:14.789 time. Do you want to comment on that, Archbishop? 00:12:15.009 --> 00:12:18.549 Well, I think that's very true. Even his own 00:12:18.549 --> 00:12:23.929 decision to stay with his fellow prisoners of 00:12:23.929 --> 00:12:28.429 war and to minister to them, I think he he felt 00:12:28.429 --> 00:12:32.090 that was the logical expression of who he was. 00:12:33.610 --> 00:12:38.309 And certainly he had already served as a chaplain 00:12:38.309 --> 00:12:41.870 during the Second World War, and then to go back 00:12:41.870 --> 00:12:48.870 into active duty, I think he was consumed by 00:12:48.870 --> 00:12:54.429 this desire to take care of his fellow soldiers, 00:12:55.309 --> 00:12:58.149 obviously regardless of their their faith conviction, 00:12:58.149 --> 00:13:02.470 regardless of who they were, it was more an expression 00:13:02.470 --> 00:13:06.850 of who he was. And during these times, and there 00:13:06.850 --> 00:13:09.909 always have been trying times in our country 00:13:09.909 --> 00:13:14.990 and in the Catholic faith, etc., but it was his 00:13:14.990 --> 00:13:18.929 calling to not beat a cliché, but it was there, 00:13:19.129 --> 00:13:23.429 and there was going to be no stopping. This was 00:13:23.429 --> 00:13:28.289 it. This was His epiphany. This was what He put 00:13:28.289 --> 00:13:31.370 on this earth to do, and He knew that. He knew 00:13:31.370 --> 00:13:34.389 this was the path that He was going to take. 00:13:36.009 --> 00:13:40.350 That's for sure. And He rose to the occasion. 00:13:40.570 --> 00:13:43.450 I think He rose to the occasion until He drew 00:13:43.450 --> 00:13:47.129 His last breath. And that's a tremendous tribute 00:13:47.129 --> 00:13:53.200 to Him, and it's a tremendous tribute to to the 00:13:53.200 --> 00:13:56.820 armed forces as well. He was not going to let 00:13:56.820 --> 00:14:01.919 his buddy down, buddy being this fellow. fellow 00:14:01.919 --> 00:14:05.779 soldiers and fellow peon. Tom, you have a comment. 00:14:06.399 --> 00:14:10.659 Your Excellency, I'm not as familiar with the 00:14:10.659 --> 00:14:14.139 story of Fr. Capone as others are, but I do have 00:14:14.139 --> 00:14:15.559 a couple of questions. You were talking about 00:14:15.559 --> 00:14:20.500 his ministry in the camps themselves. What do 00:14:20.500 --> 00:14:22.659 we know or do you know anything specifically 00:14:22.659 --> 00:14:24.740 about that? For instance, here's one question 00:14:24.740 --> 00:14:27.019 right off the bat. Was he able to celebrate Mass? 00:14:28.960 --> 00:14:32.809 Did his prison ward Do they allow that type of 00:14:32.809 --> 00:14:35.149 a thing? What kind of service was he actually 00:14:35.149 --> 00:14:38.470 doing within the prison camp? To the best of 00:14:38.470 --> 00:14:40.350 my knowledge, he was able to celebrate mass. 00:14:40.470 --> 00:14:42.590 Whether that was clandestined or not, I don't 00:14:42.590 --> 00:14:46.169 know. But I do know that in one of the books 00:14:46.169 --> 00:14:49.610 that I read about him, there was the story of 00:14:49.610 --> 00:14:53.190 after his death, one of the prison guards had 00:14:53.190 --> 00:14:59.250 a patent that he used. And I think one of the 00:14:59.250 --> 00:15:03.039 prisoners took it. took it from him. So I mean 00:15:03.039 --> 00:15:05.019 that would seem to indicate that he celebrated 00:15:05.019 --> 00:15:09.139 mass and was able to do that. Father Hudson might 00:15:09.139 --> 00:15:12.600 have a more complete response to that question. 00:15:14.159 --> 00:15:18.059 I do know that he certainly would have ministered 00:15:18.059 --> 00:15:24.419 to the Catholic POWs to the best of his ability 00:15:24.419 --> 00:15:26.360 and then of course took care of the others as 00:15:26.360 --> 00:15:28.809 well. Well, yeah, thank you. And it just seems 00:15:28.809 --> 00:15:32.029 to me that his service there, his ministry, was 00:15:32.029 --> 00:15:36.289 memorable. You know, there's a lot of, you know, 00:15:36.509 --> 00:15:39.610 whether they're Catholic or not, the stories 00:15:39.610 --> 00:15:42.149 that come back are pretty remarkable. They certainly 00:15:42.149 --> 00:15:46.370 are. And they indicated that he was there for 00:15:46.370 --> 00:15:49.649 everyone. And even the, you know, his ability 00:15:49.649 --> 00:15:55.440 to pilfer extra foodstuffs so that the The men 00:15:55.440 --> 00:16:00.659 kept up their strength to the best of his ability. 00:16:00.799 --> 00:16:03.639 I think that's also a tribute to his willingness 00:16:03.639 --> 00:16:06.509 to serve others. I'm sure he was devoted to St. 00:16:06.750 --> 00:16:12.210 Dismas, the good thief. Well, we have quite a 00:16:12.210 --> 00:16:15.210 guest list today. We want to thank you, Archbishop 00:16:15.210 --> 00:16:18.190 Broglieo, for taking time in a very busy schedule 00:16:18.190 --> 00:16:20.230 to give us a call this morning. I know it's very 00:16:20.230 --> 00:16:22.289 early and I hope you've had your cup of coffee 00:16:22.289 --> 00:16:25.490 and are ready to go and give it a day. And thank 00:16:25.490 --> 00:16:27.769 you again for being on the program. We'd like 00:16:27.769 --> 00:16:29.549 to have you come back. Isn't that right, Dale? 00:16:30.110 --> 00:16:36.069 Absolutely. Let's see if I get this right. the 00:16:36.069 --> 00:16:40.549 Center for Military Services. We'll have to talk 00:16:40.549 --> 00:16:42.950 a little bit more about that at a future program 00:16:42.950 --> 00:16:45.850 we'd like to have you on. Once again, thank you 00:16:45.850 --> 00:16:48.750 for your time and a very busy day and God bless. 00:16:58.480 --> 00:17:02.960 Ray Dow, and it talks about Father Kapan being 00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:06.279 in the prisoner of war camp. Of course, in North 00:17:06.279 --> 00:17:09.220 Korea, it's freezing, the conditions are just 00:17:09.220 --> 00:17:10.519 horrible, and we're not going to get into all 00:17:10.519 --> 00:17:12.119 that too much. It happened to be the coldest 00:17:12.119 --> 00:17:14.940 winter in 100 years. I know. It was one of those. 00:17:15.559 --> 00:17:19.759 But this man had such compassion for his fellow 00:17:19.759 --> 00:17:23.220 prisoners that every morning, he would round 00:17:23.220 --> 00:17:25.920 up a pan full of hot water and come walking into 00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:28.920 the prison. You know hooch that they were in 00:17:28.920 --> 00:17:30.740 cheerfully saying coffee everyone and pour a 00:17:30.740 --> 00:17:32.480 little hot water in everyone's bowl And they 00:17:32.480 --> 00:17:35.460 would pretend they were drinking coffee And so 00:17:35.460 --> 00:17:37.619 his goal obviously there was to keep the spirits 00:17:37.619 --> 00:17:41.559 up and even and you were in combat Dale So, you 00:17:41.559 --> 00:17:45.259 know how important that is to have that to have 00:17:45.259 --> 00:17:48.819 that mental Well -being and and and to have that 00:17:48.819 --> 00:17:51.319 right. I think the idea here and not never being 00:17:51.319 --> 00:17:54.700 a pow of course, but Just the idea of somebody 00:17:54.700 --> 00:17:58.119 watching out for you that that would be so important 00:17:58.119 --> 00:17:59.819 I would think all of the books and all of the 00:17:59.819 --> 00:18:02.220 guests that we've had on veterans radio that 00:18:02.220 --> 00:18:05.819 were POWs always talked about some the spirituality 00:18:05.819 --> 00:18:09.700 of Their mindset that they had to get into this 00:18:09.700 --> 00:18:12.119 mindset that there was this power greater than 00:18:12.119 --> 00:18:16.680 them than they That was watching over them and 00:18:16.680 --> 00:18:20.000 they all did it did this in fact quick promo. 00:18:20.079 --> 00:18:22.500 Next week we're going to talk to a POW from the 00:18:22.500 --> 00:18:25.420 Vietnam area and in his book he talks about that, 00:18:25.599 --> 00:18:29.160 the power of his belief system. Father Hodsey, 00:18:29.519 --> 00:18:32.299 would you like to comment on the idea of celebrating 00:18:32.299 --> 00:18:34.599 Mass out there while he was a POW? Do you want 00:18:34.599 --> 00:18:36.960 to give us some of those details? Well, sure. 00:18:37.839 --> 00:18:39.859 Actually, I think he was only able to celebrate 00:18:39.859 --> 00:18:42.079 Mass once when he was there in the prison camp 00:18:42.079 --> 00:18:44.720 and that was soon after they were entured. And 00:18:44.720 --> 00:18:46.299 I don't even know that he was able to complete 00:18:46.299 --> 00:18:48.380 the mass, because at first when they were starting 00:18:48.380 --> 00:18:51.299 to set up to celebrate mass, the guards kind 00:18:51.299 --> 00:18:53.859 of ignored him. And then when they realized what 00:18:53.859 --> 00:18:56.940 was going on, I think they either tried to stop 00:18:56.940 --> 00:18:59.680 them or they didn't stop him from finishing the 00:18:59.680 --> 00:19:02.859 celebration of mass. But that didn't stop Father 00:19:02.859 --> 00:19:05.019 Capon, though. I mean, he continued to have prayer 00:19:05.019 --> 00:19:07.180 services. And usually what they would do is, 00:19:07.339 --> 00:19:09.420 or what he would do is, as he was going around, 00:19:10.200 --> 00:19:12.819 if he saw an opportunity to have like an impromptu 00:19:12.819 --> 00:19:15.420 prayer service. He would just gather people around 00:19:15.420 --> 00:19:18.759 that were there. And all of the men will say 00:19:18.759 --> 00:19:20.859 that he took care of not only the Catholics, 00:19:20.960 --> 00:19:24.039 but he took care of everybody. He said, it didn't 00:19:24.039 --> 00:19:25.839 matter if you were a Protestant, it didn't matter 00:19:25.839 --> 00:19:27.519 if you were a Jew, it didn't matter if you were 00:19:27.519 --> 00:19:29.240 a Muslim, it didn't matter if you didn't believe 00:19:29.240 --> 00:19:32.579 in God. That when Father Capon was around, everybody 00:19:32.579 --> 00:19:35.859 joined him in prayers. One man, a Protestant 00:19:35.859 --> 00:19:38.000 man, kind of laughed about it. And he said, yeah, 00:19:38.059 --> 00:19:39.799 he said, we are there in the hut. And he said, 00:19:40.220 --> 00:19:43.490 here we were Protestants, Jews. non -believers, 00:19:43.769 --> 00:19:45.589 all praying the rosary with Father Capone, because 00:19:45.589 --> 00:19:49.890 he was there bringing that sense of hope to us. 00:19:50.509 --> 00:19:52.789 So he would have these impromptu prayer sessions, 00:19:52.990 --> 00:19:54.710 but also I think probably what the men remember 00:19:54.710 --> 00:19:58.950 more so. Soon after they were in the prison camp, 00:19:59.069 --> 00:20:00.910 they separated the officers from the enlisted 00:20:00.910 --> 00:20:04.549 men, and it was to do what you had just talked 00:20:04.549 --> 00:20:07.150 about them doing. They wanted to break the morale 00:20:07.150 --> 00:20:09.809 of the men. They knew that they could probably 00:20:09.809 --> 00:20:12.390 break the morale of the enlisted men easier than 00:20:12.390 --> 00:20:15.369 they could the officers because the officers 00:20:15.369 --> 00:20:17.509 were older and the enlisted men being in their 00:20:17.509 --> 00:20:20.970 late teens and early twenties. But that didn't 00:20:20.970 --> 00:20:23.130 stop Father Capon from going to minister to the 00:20:23.130 --> 00:20:25.970 enlisted men either because at night he would 00:20:25.970 --> 00:20:28.269 get up and he would break into or break out of 00:20:28.269 --> 00:20:30.990 the officer's compound and go into the enlisted 00:20:30.990 --> 00:20:33.170 men's compound and they would talk about him 00:20:33.170 --> 00:20:36.720 going from hut to hut. to check on the men. They 00:20:36.720 --> 00:20:38.500 said that he would come in and he would first 00:20:38.500 --> 00:20:41.140 check to see if everybody was doing all right 00:20:41.140 --> 00:20:43.380 or if he needed to make sure a doctor got to 00:20:43.380 --> 00:20:46.160 them the next day. If he had any food that he 00:20:46.160 --> 00:20:50.259 had been able to steal or take from the rations 00:20:50.259 --> 00:20:53.279 of the North Koreans or the Chinese, he would 00:20:53.279 --> 00:20:56.819 pass out the food that he had for them. And one 00:20:56.819 --> 00:20:59.900 guy said, Father Kapan was known for having a 00:20:59.900 --> 00:21:02.460 pipe. And they said that he would take his pipe 00:21:02.460 --> 00:21:04.400 and he would line up his pipe and he said he 00:21:04.400 --> 00:21:06.480 would take a puff of the pipe and then pass it 00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:08.539 around so everybody could have a puff of the 00:21:08.539 --> 00:21:10.539 pipe. He could have a little bit of tobacco. 00:21:10.880 --> 00:21:15.000 I love it. Well, the funny part is one man was 00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:16.980 talking to me and he said, father, he said, you 00:21:16.980 --> 00:21:19.680 know, I think we had tobacco for the first couple 00:21:19.680 --> 00:21:22.839 of weeks. But after that, he said, I know he 00:21:22.839 --> 00:21:24.539 had ran out of tobacco, and he said, I have no 00:21:24.539 --> 00:21:26.859 idea what you were smoking, but he said it wasn't 00:21:26.859 --> 00:21:29.420 tobacco. Could have been what, but it was, you 00:21:29.420 --> 00:21:31.660 know, and in a way that's like sharing communion. 00:21:32.160 --> 00:21:36.319 Exactly. And it's a way of bonding. He was, I 00:21:36.319 --> 00:21:38.880 don't want to use the word obsessed. He was driven. 00:21:39.069 --> 00:21:42.410 There we go. He was driven no obsession. So no, 00:21:42.490 --> 00:21:44.789 no, we don't want to use he was driven And there 00:21:44.789 --> 00:21:48.470 was no stopping him no matter what the chinese 00:21:48.470 --> 00:21:51.869 the north koreans There was no stopping him comment 00:21:51.869 --> 00:21:56.390 on that father Well If I go back to my story 00:21:56.390 --> 00:21:58.089 a little I think it will demonstrate it The guys 00:21:58.089 --> 00:22:00.150 say that after he passed the pipe around he would 00:22:00.150 --> 00:22:02.309 say well, let's pray And he said he would lead 00:22:02.309 --> 00:22:04.150 him in prayer and then he would go from that 00:22:04.150 --> 00:22:08.170 hat to the next hat But he would not stop not 00:22:08.170 --> 00:22:10.049 stop doing that. I mean, he would do it at night. 00:22:10.430 --> 00:22:12.410 One guy asked me, he said, I don't even know 00:22:12.410 --> 00:22:14.170 if he ever slept. He said, it seemed like he 00:22:14.170 --> 00:22:16.049 was always on the go, always doing something, 00:22:16.349 --> 00:22:18.450 always having that drive to go out and to help 00:22:18.450 --> 00:22:21.730 others. I did hear one story. It was from a commanding 00:22:21.730 --> 00:22:24.210 officer of his once. And he said, this was prior 00:22:24.210 --> 00:22:27.589 to them being captured. And he said, oftentimes, 00:22:27.750 --> 00:22:30.190 he said, I had time. He said, I had a hard time 00:22:30.190 --> 00:22:31.829 sleeping at night. He said, I would be worried 00:22:31.829 --> 00:22:34.690 about what was going on and what battles were 00:22:34.690 --> 00:22:37.660 going to be coming our way and things. So he 00:22:37.660 --> 00:22:39.339 said he would often get up and walk around the 00:22:39.339 --> 00:22:41.740 camp at night. And he said more often than not, 00:22:41.839 --> 00:22:43.759 he said he would go and he would see some light 00:22:43.759 --> 00:22:45.880 on in the hut that shouldn't have been on or 00:22:45.880 --> 00:22:47.559 shouldn't have been anybody there. And he would 00:22:47.559 --> 00:22:49.779 go and he said it would be Father Capone and 00:22:49.779 --> 00:22:53.019 he'd be in there writing letters home to the 00:22:53.019 --> 00:22:54.980 families of the soldiers that had passed away. 00:22:56.119 --> 00:22:59.299 He said he just kept going and kept doing things. 00:22:59.660 --> 00:23:01.680 And when you look at it and you hear the stories, 00:23:01.819 --> 00:23:04.079 I mean people that helped me gather information 00:23:04.079 --> 00:23:07.130 that we sent over to Rome. One man said, he said, 00:23:07.210 --> 00:23:08.890 well, he said, I don't know how he was able to 00:23:08.890 --> 00:23:12.269 accomplish everything that he had done. And this 00:23:12.269 --> 00:23:14.730 man said that he had taken the time and he'd 00:23:14.730 --> 00:23:18.049 make a timeline from stories that he had heard, 00:23:18.089 --> 00:23:20.829 that we had heard of Father Capon. And they're 00:23:20.829 --> 00:23:23.630 all things where he had done things right after 00:23:23.630 --> 00:23:26.269 the another. And it was like, how could you possibly 00:23:26.269 --> 00:23:28.470 do all of this stuff? So you're right. I mean, 00:23:28.589 --> 00:23:31.920 he was a driven man and he was driven. by his 00:23:31.920 --> 00:23:34.940 need to help his fellow soldier. No stopping, 00:23:35.240 --> 00:23:37.720 no stopping, nothing. Exactly. No, not the weather, 00:23:38.359 --> 00:23:41.440 not the brutality, in fact that usually steals 00:23:41.440 --> 00:23:46.619 people even more to resist tyranny and to resist 00:23:46.619 --> 00:23:51.099 discomfort and to prevail. Right now, on the 00:23:51.099 --> 00:23:53.619 line, stay on the line please, Father John. Okay, 00:23:53.799 --> 00:23:58.839 on the line with me. Bob reaches over is mr. 00:23:59.279 --> 00:24:02.960 Roy Vensel. He's a national award -winning reporter. 00:24:03.220 --> 00:24:09.200 He's now a Working with the Wichita Eagle and 00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:11.539 he's wrote written a couple of books the latest 00:24:11.539 --> 00:24:14.039 one The second book was published last month 00:24:14.039 --> 00:24:18.440 by we'll get this st. Ignace Press I should probably 00:24:18.440 --> 00:24:23.680 spell that IG and a T -I -U -S, and it's called 00:24:23.680 --> 00:24:26.160 the miracle of Father Capante. You're all going 00:24:26.160 --> 00:24:28.799 to want this. You have a veteran in the family. 00:24:28.960 --> 00:24:30.619 You're going to want this. You're going to want 00:24:30.619 --> 00:24:34.660 this book. In fact, I gave a copy of it to Tom 00:24:34.660 --> 00:24:36.500 and he's had a chance to look at it. Isn't that 00:24:36.500 --> 00:24:38.880 a wonderful book? It really is. It's quite beautiful. 00:24:39.779 --> 00:24:42.319 It's lavishly illustrated. No doubt about it. 00:24:42.819 --> 00:24:45.220 And the amount of information that's in it is 00:24:45.220 --> 00:24:48.940 very carefully put together. This man has done 00:24:48.940 --> 00:24:52.460 a great job of telling this story. So it's really 00:24:52.460 --> 00:24:54.000 good that he's here with us today so we can talk 00:24:54.000 --> 00:24:57.269 to him. Absolutely. And we have the author. So 00:24:57.269 --> 00:25:00.269 currently he is with the Wichita Eagle. He is 00:25:00.269 --> 00:25:02.970 the author of the Miracle of Father Capone. It's 00:25:02.970 --> 00:25:07.930 also on DVD, Veterans Radio. Welcome to Roy Vensel. 00:25:08.990 --> 00:25:11.650 Glad to be here. Glad we could have you there 00:25:11.650 --> 00:25:14.730 all the way to Wichita. And what's the weather 00:25:14.730 --> 00:25:18.529 like down there? Just a little nice and windy 00:25:18.529 --> 00:25:21.730 and cool. Like it always is. April day in Kansas, 00:25:21.970 --> 00:25:24.049 yeah. I was down there at Fort Riley. I know 00:25:24.049 --> 00:25:26.329 it well. Roy, why don't you fill us in? We've 00:25:26.329 --> 00:25:28.789 only got a couple minutes before the halfway 00:25:28.789 --> 00:25:31.410 break, but just give us a little something about 00:25:31.410 --> 00:25:34.289 how you put all this together, the DVD and the 00:25:34.289 --> 00:25:39.589 book. We started working on it with one phone 00:25:39.589 --> 00:25:45.190 call to some priest named John Hotsy. Yeah, we've 00:25:45.190 --> 00:25:48.710 heard of him. I had some preconceived notions 00:25:48.710 --> 00:25:51.029 and didn't want to do the story, but I went to 00:25:51.029 --> 00:25:53.750 that priest and he straightened me out, at least 00:25:53.750 --> 00:25:57.130 on that. And we started working on it. He was 00:25:57.130 --> 00:26:00.210 the one who told me this really got us going. 00:26:00.970 --> 00:26:03.710 I thought it was just another old anniversary 00:26:03.710 --> 00:26:05.630 story that my editors were trying to make me 00:26:05.630 --> 00:26:09.549 do. But when I called him at their suggestion, 00:26:09.589 --> 00:26:11.990 I found out from him that the Medal of Honor 00:26:11.990 --> 00:26:15.289 investigation had heated up again, and the Sainthood 00:26:15.289 --> 00:26:18.490 investigation had heated up again quite a bit. 00:26:21.510 --> 00:26:25.529 parallel investigations were really getting very 00:26:25.529 --> 00:26:29.089 interesting. The other preconceived notion I 00:26:29.089 --> 00:26:30.970 had was, well, how am I going to do this? It's 00:26:30.970 --> 00:26:35.750 been close to 60 years. Surely his friends are 00:26:35.750 --> 00:26:39.809 a little too old to help me out enough. He assured 00:26:39.809 --> 00:26:42.569 me now. He had talked to them. A bunch of them 00:26:42.569 --> 00:26:44.809 were still alive, still very vigorous, and still 00:26:44.809 --> 00:26:48.839 very irritated. that there was no medal of honor 00:26:48.839 --> 00:26:51.940 for a guy that they had seen up close do everything 00:26:51.940 --> 00:26:56.039 and beyond that made him very deserving. So we 00:26:56.039 --> 00:27:00.359 spent six months. My friend Travis Hine, a great 00:27:00.359 --> 00:27:02.559 photojournalist, and I went all over the country 00:27:02.559 --> 00:27:05.339 and interviewed some of these guys. It was probably 00:27:05.339 --> 00:27:08.900 one of the more interesting and moving stories 00:27:08.900 --> 00:27:11.579 we've ever worked on together or separately. 00:27:12.279 --> 00:27:17.000 And they filled us in about what he did. And 00:27:17.000 --> 00:27:19.980 it took us six months. We put that together. 00:27:20.200 --> 00:27:22.200 And then about a year and a half or so later, 00:27:22.420 --> 00:27:25.160 St. Ignatius Press got in touch with us and said, 00:27:25.240 --> 00:27:27.579 you know, we kind of like your story. Would you 00:27:27.579 --> 00:27:31.640 mind turning it into a book? And I thought about 00:27:31.640 --> 00:27:35.519 that really long and hard. And then, okay, fine. 00:27:36.740 --> 00:27:39.799 We now have a book with a lot more information 00:27:39.799 --> 00:27:44.240 than we had in the 2009 story. and now all of 00:27:44.240 --> 00:27:46.539 this is happening just at the same time the the 00:27:46.539 --> 00:27:48.720 book is coming out so we're kind of pleased with 00:27:48.720 --> 00:27:50.980 that well we'll get to that in just a moment 00:27:50.980 --> 00:27:53.180 i can't believe the timing on this this guy is 00:27:53.180 --> 00:27:55.339 really good folks right we've got 20 seconds 00:27:55.339 --> 00:27:57.960 before we go to our halftime break so roy stay 00:27:57.960 --> 00:28:01.440 on the line yes and we'll yes we'll want to give 00:28:01.440 --> 00:28:03.480 that information now you can buy the dvd and 00:28:03.480 --> 00:28:06.660 the book and we're going to go to a very very 00:28:06.660 --> 00:28:09.440 quick Break right Nina and she's pushing all 00:28:09.440 --> 00:28:12.460 kinds of buttons five four three. You're listening 00:28:12.460 --> 00:28:15.559 to veterans radio. Don't go away Yeah, I like 00:28:15.559 --> 00:28:17.359 that I was listening to that this morning and 00:28:17.359 --> 00:28:19.400 I said that's gonna be so appropriate because 00:28:19.400 --> 00:28:22.420 it is a new beginning That's from a CD called 00:28:22.420 --> 00:28:26.079 We knew and it really does make you feel that 00:28:26.079 --> 00:28:27.880 way and that's exactly what we're doing. We're 00:28:27.880 --> 00:28:32.920 renewing life story of father Emil Capone And 00:28:32.920 --> 00:28:37.319 on the line with me is Father John Hotsy, the 00:28:37.319 --> 00:28:42.279 Vicar of the Archdiocese of Wichita, and Mr. 00:28:42.640 --> 00:28:47.039 Roy Wenzel, who is a national award -winning 00:28:47.039 --> 00:28:50.259 reporter with the Wichita Eagle. Roy, I know 00:28:50.259 --> 00:28:52.420 that when you were doing your research for the 00:28:52.420 --> 00:28:56.039 book and for the DVD, you did meet with those 00:28:56.039 --> 00:29:00.160 that were. right there with Father Capan, and 00:29:00.160 --> 00:29:01.900 why don't you very briefly, they'll tell us what 00:29:01.900 --> 00:29:06.380 that was like to meet with these people. Well, 00:29:07.240 --> 00:29:09.880 I had a lot of experience in the past interviewing 00:29:09.880 --> 00:29:15.119 veterans of all the wars back to World War II, 00:29:15.960 --> 00:29:18.759 and they're very tough. Soldiers are usually, 00:29:18.799 --> 00:29:20.619 they don't want to talk very much about these 00:29:20.619 --> 00:29:25.710 things. They don't want to talk about the terrible 00:29:25.710 --> 00:29:28.309 things as much because they just don't think 00:29:28.309 --> 00:29:31.029 anybody will get it. He's never had to do it. 00:29:32.269 --> 00:29:35.130 Some of them are traumatized in one way or another 00:29:35.130 --> 00:29:37.329 and they just don't want to go there. They just 00:29:37.329 --> 00:29:39.789 try to go on with their lives. In this case, 00:29:40.170 --> 00:29:42.450 they had gone through terrible things, these 00:29:42.450 --> 00:29:45.089 guys, and they didn't really want to talk about 00:29:45.089 --> 00:29:48.420 themselves. Really vehemently want to talk about 00:29:48.420 --> 00:29:51.720 him because they walked out of that camp in 1953 00:29:51.720 --> 00:29:54.079 determined to try to get somebody's attention 00:29:54.079 --> 00:29:57.920 and and Make make this ceremony that's finally 00:29:57.920 --> 00:30:00.319 going to happen this coming week to make it happen. 00:30:00.319 --> 00:30:02.900 It took them 60 years They're a little irritated 00:30:02.900 --> 00:30:07.779 with that But but they did it so it was It was 00:30:07.779 --> 00:30:11.240 very compelling to talk to these guys Well, we 00:30:11.240 --> 00:30:14.460 have one of them on the air right now about standing 00:30:14.460 --> 00:30:20.720 by Mr. Bill Funchus Mr. William Bill Funchus 00:30:20.720 --> 00:30:26.019 who was with the 24th Infantry Division in Korea 00:30:26.019 --> 00:30:28.279 he was one of the ones thrown right literally 00:30:28.279 --> 00:30:32.579 into the breach the soldiers to stop the onslaught 00:30:32.579 --> 00:30:37.460 of the Republic of North Korea and and then the 00:30:37.460 --> 00:30:41.779 Chinese came in in November of 1950 and that 00:30:41.779 --> 00:30:45.750 was when Mr. Funchus, along with thousands of 00:30:45.750 --> 00:30:49.349 other soldiers, airmen, etc., were captured, 00:30:49.910 --> 00:30:54.009 and Father Capon was also November of 1950. Bill 00:30:54.009 --> 00:30:58.390 Funchus, welcome to Veterans Radio. Thank you. 00:30:58.529 --> 00:31:00.690 I'm glad to be here, sir. Well, we're glad to 00:31:00.690 --> 00:31:04.490 have you. And please tell us, tell us, Father 00:31:04.490 --> 00:31:08.250 Capon, there he is standing there, and you have 00:31:08.250 --> 00:31:11.890 a whole chance now to... to describe that. What 00:31:11.890 --> 00:31:15.950 was his stature? What was he like? Father Capon 00:31:15.950 --> 00:31:21.109 was a great man. He always stood out in the crowd. 00:31:21.789 --> 00:31:26.009 And I recall the first time that I really saw 00:31:26.009 --> 00:31:29.049 him. We were on the march together, but I was 00:31:29.049 --> 00:31:31.769 wounded and I was the last one in the column. 00:31:32.529 --> 00:31:35.230 And so I did not meet him on the march, but sometime 00:31:35.230 --> 00:31:40.339 later, in the camp, I saw a man melting snow, 00:31:40.859 --> 00:31:43.599 and I walked over to see what he was doing, and 00:31:43.599 --> 00:31:47.440 he introduced himself, his father, Emil Capon, 00:31:47.680 --> 00:31:50.180 and he asked me if I would like to have a drink 00:31:50.180 --> 00:31:53.740 of water. And I said, yes, sir, I have not had 00:31:53.740 --> 00:31:56.500 any water to drink since the day I was captured, 00:31:56.880 --> 00:32:00.019 and it's been three months. And so he gave me 00:32:00.019 --> 00:32:03.700 the first drink of water that I had after I was 00:32:03.700 --> 00:32:07.589 captured. But he was a great man. He was always 00:32:07.589 --> 00:32:12.230 taking risks and chances in order to help someone 00:32:12.230 --> 00:32:15.730 else. He would go out, he'd scrounge things that 00:32:15.730 --> 00:32:18.490 we could use. He would scrounge food for us. 00:32:19.009 --> 00:32:23.049 He would attend to the wounds of the sick and 00:32:23.049 --> 00:32:26.829 the wounded. And he's a very caring individual. 00:32:27.049 --> 00:32:30.690 And I want to say again, he was perhaps the greatest 00:32:30.690 --> 00:32:34.799 man that I've ever met. Well, that's really saying 00:32:34.799 --> 00:32:36.759 something Tom you're shaking your head after 00:32:36.759 --> 00:32:39.819 hearing something like that. Oh, it's very moving 00:32:39.819 --> 00:32:44.940 to hear stories of this of this man's goodness 00:32:44.940 --> 00:32:48.710 and and how the simple expression of goodness, 00:32:48.890 --> 00:32:51.529 you know, a drink of water, how that can make... 00:32:51.529 --> 00:32:54.309 A sip of water. Right, how that changes a man's 00:32:54.309 --> 00:32:57.690 life in a positive way, you know, taking care 00:32:57.690 --> 00:32:59.910 of the wounded, just looking and seeing that 00:32:59.910 --> 00:33:02.869 somebody is in need. So, you know, thank you 00:33:02.869 --> 00:33:04.930 for your testimony, sir. I mean, this is terrific 00:33:04.930 --> 00:33:08.009 to hear. And I'm sure that there was a very difficult 00:33:08.009 --> 00:33:10.490 time in your life, too. I'm absolutely positive 00:33:10.490 --> 00:33:14.230 of that. So, yeah. I'd like to know more. I really 00:33:14.230 --> 00:33:16.289 would, you know. Well, Bill, go ahead and tell 00:33:16.289 --> 00:33:18.329 us a little bit more. Give us some more stories 00:33:18.329 --> 00:33:24.789 of Camp 5. Well, at the time he gave me my drink 00:33:24.789 --> 00:33:28.269 of water, the Chinese and North Koreans did not 00:33:28.269 --> 00:33:31.990 realize I was an officer. And sometime later, 00:33:32.190 --> 00:33:36.369 they moved me into the officer compound. And 00:33:36.369 --> 00:33:41.200 I observed Father Capon. from time to time, slipping 00:33:41.200 --> 00:33:45.079 across the barbed wire fence at great risk to 00:33:45.079 --> 00:33:49.220 himself. And he would go over into the enlisted 00:33:49.220 --> 00:33:52.900 men's compound and take care of their needs. 00:33:53.759 --> 00:33:56.779 He would offer prayers, not only to the Catholics, 00:33:56.980 --> 00:34:00.079 but to the non -Catholics, to Protestants like 00:34:00.079 --> 00:34:04.779 myself. And we were very appreciative of that. 00:34:06.079 --> 00:34:10.699 Father Capon was living in a separate room from 00:34:10.699 --> 00:34:15.980 me at first, but later on the Chinese and the 00:34:15.980 --> 00:34:20.119 North Koreans apparently wanted to isolate Father 00:34:20.119 --> 00:34:24.760 Capon from the Catholics. So they threw him into 00:34:24.760 --> 00:34:29.940 the room in my shack. There was no place for 00:34:29.940 --> 00:34:34.300 Father Capon in the room. So I made everybody 00:34:34.300 --> 00:34:38.340 move over and I gave Father Capon the place that 00:34:38.340 --> 00:34:42.079 I was using on the floor. It was about 15 inches 00:34:42.079 --> 00:34:48.800 wide. And so I slept and spent my time lying 00:34:48.800 --> 00:34:52.239 on the floor beside Father Capon for the next 00:34:52.239 --> 00:34:56.579 five or six weeks. Now when he came in, he had 00:34:56.579 --> 00:35:00.800 a blood clot apparently on his leg and he could 00:35:00.800 --> 00:35:07.179 not walk. And so I took it upon myself and sometimes 00:35:07.179 --> 00:35:11.719 with the help of other POWs to take care of Father 00:35:11.719 --> 00:35:22.440 Capon's daily needs. We were able to find in 00:35:22.440 --> 00:35:27.980 the rubble the top half of a destroyed pot -bellied 00:35:27.980 --> 00:35:32.469 stove made out of cast iron. Father Capon had 00:35:32.469 --> 00:35:36.429 showed us how to make these little pans using 00:35:36.429 --> 00:35:40.409 tin. So we made a little pan. They put it inside 00:35:40.409 --> 00:35:44.250 that pot -bellied stove, and we used that for 00:35:44.250 --> 00:35:48.929 his toilet. He had trouble eating, so sometimes 00:35:48.929 --> 00:35:55.550 we had to spoon feed Father Capon. But various 00:35:55.550 --> 00:35:58.809 men would come into the room from time to time. 00:35:59.050 --> 00:36:03.409 to speak to Father Capon or ask Father Capon 00:36:03.409 --> 00:36:08.150 to pray for them. And Father Capon always responded. 00:36:09.329 --> 00:36:12.989 And it was not only the Catholics coming in, 00:36:13.010 --> 00:36:18.510 but also the non -Catholics coming in to consult 00:36:18.510 --> 00:36:23.030 with Father Capon. And I might point out that 00:36:23.030 --> 00:36:28.300 he was in my room for about five... about five 00:36:28.300 --> 00:36:30.500 weeks, all of April, it seems like, and maybe 00:36:30.500 --> 00:36:36.860 a week or two in May of 1951. And then one day, 00:36:38.460 --> 00:36:42.139 the Chinese came in suddenly. They just burst 00:36:42.139 --> 00:36:45.260 in, four or five or six of them, and they said, 00:36:45.739 --> 00:36:51.599 we are taking Kapan to the hospital. And those 00:36:51.599 --> 00:36:54.079 were the worst words that I could have possibly 00:36:54.079 --> 00:36:57.920 have heard. They referred to the building on 00:36:57.920 --> 00:37:01.619 top of the hill as the hospital. We called it 00:37:01.619 --> 00:37:05.099 the death house because whoever went into the 00:37:05.099 --> 00:37:10.300 death house, very few came out. Mike Dow came 00:37:10.300 --> 00:37:15.420 out for one. But we knew what was going to happen. 00:37:15.880 --> 00:37:19.659 And we tried our best to prevent the Chinese 00:37:19.659 --> 00:37:25.210 from taking Father Capon out of my room. I begged 00:37:25.210 --> 00:37:27.610 them, I told them I would take care of him, but 00:37:27.610 --> 00:37:31.130 they wanted no part of that. The Catholics came 00:37:31.130 --> 00:37:36.309 in, they raised the rooks with the Chinese, trying 00:37:36.309 --> 00:37:40.510 everything humanly possible to prevent them from 00:37:40.510 --> 00:37:44.949 taking him up to that building on top of the 00:37:44.949 --> 00:37:50.449 hill. But they took Father Capon anyway. Some 00:37:50.449 --> 00:37:54.789 of the Catholics had the privilege of carrying 00:37:54.789 --> 00:38:00.969 him from my room up to the so -called hospital 00:38:00.969 --> 00:38:04.750 or what we call the death house. And he was up 00:38:04.750 --> 00:38:08.170 there for a week or two and finally we got word 00:38:08.170 --> 00:38:14.150 that Father Capon had died. And it hit us all, 00:38:14.230 --> 00:38:17.699 Catholics, non -Catholics. just like a ton of 00:38:17.699 --> 00:38:22.119 bricks because we all had so much love and respect 00:38:22.119 --> 00:38:27.360 for him. It was a great loss to him and it's 00:38:27.360 --> 00:38:31.059 a loss that I've endured ever since I first met 00:38:31.059 --> 00:38:37.380 him back in 1951. He was a great man. Now you 00:38:37.380 --> 00:38:42.340 survived. You came back from Korea. And in closing, 00:38:42.760 --> 00:38:47.619 what How did that affect the rest of your life, 00:38:48.039 --> 00:38:52.760 that experience with Father Capone? Well, I was 00:38:52.760 --> 00:38:58.519 determined to live a righteous and a religious 00:38:58.519 --> 00:39:02.860 type of life. I wanted to respect my fellow man. 00:39:03.380 --> 00:39:08.099 I wanted to help my fellow man just as much as 00:39:08.099 --> 00:39:15.340 I possibly could. taught me a great deal about 00:39:15.340 --> 00:39:20.139 compassion and I'm trying to understand other 00:39:20.139 --> 00:39:25.559 people, other people's viewpoints and it encouraged 00:39:25.559 --> 00:39:29.380 me to try to help other people any way that I 00:39:29.380 --> 00:39:33.260 could. Well I know that there's something that 00:39:33.260 --> 00:39:36.300 you and I talked about the other day that you're 00:39:36.300 --> 00:39:39.699 get an opportunity now to tell our veteran audience 00:39:39.699 --> 00:39:44.159 and our non -veteran audience to recite the 23rd 00:39:44.159 --> 00:39:47.480 Psalm. And in closing for your segment, would 00:39:47.480 --> 00:39:51.199 you please do that, Bill, the one that you recited 00:39:51.199 --> 00:39:54.840 so well on the DVD. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. 00:39:54.880 --> 00:39:59.820 Bill Funchus. I was in a room on one occasion 00:39:59.820 --> 00:40:04.599 with 11 other seriously wounded POWs. At the 00:40:04.599 --> 00:40:07.119 time I was captured, I had the little pocket 00:40:07.119 --> 00:40:12.179 Bible. that I had and After I got after we got 00:40:12.179 --> 00:40:17.079 to the first temporary POW camp I took the Bible 00:40:17.079 --> 00:40:21.659 out of my pocket and each day for 15 or 20 minutes 00:40:21.659 --> 00:40:25.780 each day I would read from the Bible and I always 00:40:25.780 --> 00:40:29.659 would start off by reading the 23rd Psalm and 00:40:29.659 --> 00:40:33.840 the reason I use the 23rd Psalm is because when 00:40:33.840 --> 00:40:37.199 I was growing up in South Carolina, my mother 00:40:37.199 --> 00:40:42.219 always told me in times of trouble, you should 00:40:42.219 --> 00:40:47.139 read the 23rd Psalm because it will give you 00:40:47.139 --> 00:40:52.139 peace and comfort. And anyway, I asked the men 00:40:52.139 --> 00:40:54.739 one day after I had the Bible, would you like 00:40:54.739 --> 00:40:58.039 for me to read? And they said, yes, please read. 00:40:58.119 --> 00:41:01.599 And I read to them, started off with the 23rd 00:41:01.599 --> 00:41:06.570 Psalm. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. 00:41:07.349 --> 00:41:11.210 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He 00:41:11.210 --> 00:41:15.809 leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth 00:41:15.809 --> 00:41:20.630 my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness 00:41:20.630 --> 00:41:25.429 for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through 00:41:25.429 --> 00:41:28.969 the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear 00:41:28.969 --> 00:41:34.079 no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and Thy 00:41:34.079 --> 00:41:38.440 staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table 00:41:38.440 --> 00:41:43.320 before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou 00:41:43.320 --> 00:41:48.239 anointest my head with oil. My cup runneth over. 00:41:49.119 --> 00:41:53.679 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all 00:41:53.679 --> 00:41:57.300 the days of my life, and I will dwell in the 00:41:57.300 --> 00:42:01.429 house of the Lord forever. Thank you, sir. Thank 00:42:01.429 --> 00:42:05.190 you very much Bill and God bless you and you 00:42:05.190 --> 00:42:09.250 have a great day. Thank you so much Bob for having 00:42:09.250 --> 00:42:42.639 me a part of this program. Oh, we're back and 00:42:42.639 --> 00:42:45.679 after that That was really something. What do 00:42:45.679 --> 00:42:49.900 you think of that Tom? Well as a guy who's been 00:42:49.900 --> 00:42:51.760 in radio for a long time that was good radio. 00:42:51.780 --> 00:42:54.300 Oh, that was good radio because um, you know 00:42:54.460 --> 00:42:57.380 This man told us a story. He was right there. 00:42:57.460 --> 00:43:00.880 He was right there. We followed him. We sat on 00:43:00.880 --> 00:43:02.559 every word that he said, you know, because it 00:43:02.559 --> 00:43:06.380 was true. He was so articulate. It was like it 00:43:06.380 --> 00:43:10.860 happened yesterday in his mind, in the backgrounds 00:43:10.860 --> 00:43:13.579 of his mind. And there it was. And also for him 00:43:13.579 --> 00:43:16.380 to end in prayer, I thought, was really quite 00:43:16.380 --> 00:43:18.159 beautiful. And I'm glad that you asked him to 00:43:18.159 --> 00:43:19.820 do that too, Bob. I think that was really great. 00:43:21.420 --> 00:43:26.119 Father Capone has had an impact that is stretching 00:43:26.119 --> 00:43:28.460 even now. How many people are hearing us right 00:43:28.460 --> 00:43:34.260 now? We don't know. His saintliness, this goodness 00:43:34.260 --> 00:43:38.219 that he had in his life was given to these men 00:43:38.219 --> 00:43:42.679 and these men are now changed for that. And now 00:43:42.679 --> 00:43:45.500 because of this show that we're doing, other 00:43:45.500 --> 00:43:47.380 people can hear it and maybe their lives will 00:43:47.380 --> 00:43:49.659 be changed as well. And I thought it was beautiful 00:43:49.659 --> 00:43:52.679 that he decided to go and do the 23rd Psalm because 00:43:52.679 --> 00:43:56.280 it's so... It's so beautiful, so sweet, and so 00:43:56.280 --> 00:43:59.739 true, and it brings us into the heart of God's 00:43:59.739 --> 00:44:02.539 love. So I just thought this was very, very good 00:44:02.539 --> 00:44:04.099 radio, and I'm glad you asked me that question. 00:44:05.239 --> 00:44:08.619 And the 23rd Psalm was something he recited every 00:44:08.619 --> 00:44:11.119 day. I'm sure he did. Every day, as his mother 00:44:11.119 --> 00:44:13.659 said, as a time of trouble. Dale, you've been... 00:44:13.659 --> 00:44:19.219 I was taken aback by that, because I time tripped 00:44:19.219 --> 00:44:22.570 back. My sister had given me a small... Bible 00:44:22.570 --> 00:44:25.809 to take to Vietnam with me and the 23rd Psalm 00:44:25.809 --> 00:44:30.789 had always been important in our family and periodically, 00:44:31.269 --> 00:44:33.469 I mean you don't know me as being very spiritual 00:44:33.469 --> 00:44:35.690 I don't think but periodically while I was there 00:44:35.690 --> 00:44:37.909 I would pull out that little Bible and read the 00:44:37.909 --> 00:44:41.250 23rd Psalm because it is the most powerful I 00:44:41.250 --> 00:44:44.949 think Psalm that's in the Bible and you know 00:44:44.949 --> 00:44:46.809 there are people that would read that there are 00:44:46.809 --> 00:44:49.579 people that would changed words and so on and 00:44:49.579 --> 00:44:51.519 so forth but the message was always in the same 00:44:51.519 --> 00:44:54.139 that you were you were protected by something 00:44:54.139 --> 00:44:56.940 whether you believed or not you always had this 00:44:56.940 --> 00:45:00.440 this Sensation that something was watching over 00:45:00.440 --> 00:45:03.900 you that you were protected on that particular 00:45:03.900 --> 00:45:07.449 time and then and it was just I had to pull away 00:45:07.449 --> 00:45:09.110 from the microphone while he was reading that 00:45:09.110 --> 00:45:11.210 and and again thinking again this this man is 00:45:11.210 --> 00:45:14.989 probably in his 80s at least middle 80s and you 00:45:14.989 --> 00:45:17.690 know all of those men who carry this story with 00:45:17.690 --> 00:45:20.949 them from father kapon and and the impact that 00:45:20.949 --> 00:45:24.429 this man had 60 years later i know well you know 00:45:24.429 --> 00:45:26.650 we were talking about when when he was describing 00:45:26.650 --> 00:45:29.670 the room we've had other korean pows on and they 00:45:29.670 --> 00:45:32.449 describe the same thing that they're in a room 00:45:32.449 --> 00:45:34.090 whatever the size of the room is each of you 00:45:34.090 --> 00:45:36.289 had about a foot That was it. They would cram 00:45:36.289 --> 00:45:38.230 so many of you in there that you couldn't even 00:45:38.230 --> 00:45:41.550 roll over without bumping into the other person. 00:45:41.610 --> 00:45:46.210 You all kind of slept right next to each other 00:45:46.210 --> 00:45:49.389 like you're best friends. And that any time that 00:45:49.389 --> 00:45:53.250 the guards would come in and take you to the 00:45:53.250 --> 00:45:56.869 death room or the death building, the hospital, 00:45:56.989 --> 00:46:00.570 the hospital is that metaphor for that's it, 00:46:00.570 --> 00:46:03.650 you're done. They didn't come back. A lot of 00:46:03.650 --> 00:46:05.849 times I didn't even reach the hospital and the 00:46:05.849 --> 00:46:07.309 stories and the people that we've talked to. 00:46:07.570 --> 00:46:11.090 So can you imagine that they're taking this spiritual 00:46:11.090 --> 00:46:14.150 leader away from them and they knew what was 00:46:14.150 --> 00:46:19.010 happening? I'm sorry. People have got to read 00:46:19.010 --> 00:46:21.030 this. If you could ever get a hold of this thing 00:46:21.030 --> 00:46:24.269 about Father Capon by Mike Dow who he mentioned, 00:46:24.829 --> 00:46:29.250 he talks about how he had a little gold cup. 00:46:29.519 --> 00:46:31.239 that he would hold, you know, for the bread, 00:46:31.440 --> 00:46:35.159 for the communion, I guess. And that was their 00:46:35.159 --> 00:46:38.320 most prized possession that he left to them. 00:46:38.440 --> 00:46:40.699 Wow. And that they would continue on. And as 00:46:40.699 --> 00:46:44.659 he was being taken out on a litter, he told these 00:46:44.659 --> 00:46:47.480 men in this room, he says, keep going, keep this 00:46:47.480 --> 00:46:50.820 going. Even though I'm gone, you can do this. 00:46:51.039 --> 00:46:55.300 And that meant survival. It did. Because all 00:46:55.300 --> 00:46:59.420 the physical discomfort and stress, You can, 00:46:59.659 --> 00:47:01.980 you can get through that. You can get through 00:47:01.980 --> 00:47:05.340 that if your mind, if your mind is with God and 00:47:05.340 --> 00:47:08.360 spiritually. Father Hadzi, I know you've had 00:47:08.360 --> 00:47:11.019 a chance to listen to all this. We've only got 00:47:11.019 --> 00:47:13.099 a few minutes left. I'd like you to comment. 00:47:13.460 --> 00:47:17.159 And where does Father Capone go from receiving 00:47:17.159 --> 00:47:19.639 the Medal of Honor? And what does the future 00:47:19.639 --> 00:47:23.679 lie for Father Capone? Well, I think a final 00:47:23.679 --> 00:47:27.280 comment. When we look at what Father Capone did, 00:47:27.559 --> 00:47:30.130 I mean, The acts that he did were very simple 00:47:30.130 --> 00:47:32.130 acts. I mean, helping, feeding those that were 00:47:32.130 --> 00:47:34.989 hungry, giving clothes to those, trying to provide 00:47:34.989 --> 00:47:38.030 clean water. But Father Capon was able to do 00:47:38.030 --> 00:47:41.869 it under extraordinary circumstances. And just 00:47:41.869 --> 00:47:44.289 lately, I've been thinking about what it would 00:47:44.289 --> 00:47:46.769 be like to be in that prison camp and the fellow 00:47:46.769 --> 00:47:48.429 prisoners and stuff. And I think this is kind 00:47:48.429 --> 00:47:51.090 of what sets me apart, and I think probably most 00:47:51.090 --> 00:47:53.789 of us apart from the greatness of Father Capon. 00:47:54.650 --> 00:47:56.449 I'm sitting here thinking, when I get up and 00:47:56.449 --> 00:47:58.050 I'm struggling or when there's a bad period of 00:47:58.050 --> 00:48:00.369 time, I get up and I think, well, how am I going 00:48:00.369 --> 00:48:02.730 to survive this day? And I think probably in 00:48:02.730 --> 00:48:04.949 the prison camp, many men had that same thought, 00:48:04.969 --> 00:48:06.710 how am I going to survive during this day or 00:48:06.710 --> 00:48:09.329 how am I going to live through this day? I think 00:48:09.329 --> 00:48:11.929 Father Capon got up in the morning and thought, 00:48:12.250 --> 00:48:15.030 how am I going to help others survive this day? 00:48:15.469 --> 00:48:17.429 And I think that's probably what it sets him 00:48:17.429 --> 00:48:19.789 apart from, I know it would certainly be, but 00:48:19.789 --> 00:48:21.969 I think probably from most of us. I mean, while 00:48:21.969 --> 00:48:23.710 most of us would be thinking about ourselves. 00:48:23.960 --> 00:48:26.980 Father Capon thought about others and how he 00:48:26.980 --> 00:48:29.219 could help others and ultimately, I mean, he 00:48:29.219 --> 00:48:32.840 gave his very life in that service. In terms 00:48:32.840 --> 00:48:37.420 of his continuing on in the process after the 00:48:37.420 --> 00:48:39.739 Medal of Honor, certainly the Medal of Honor 00:48:39.739 --> 00:48:44.579 will bring attention to his cause for sainthood. 00:48:45.079 --> 00:48:47.940 One of the things that the Congregation for Saints 00:48:47.940 --> 00:48:53.190 over in Rome looks for in this decision of naming 00:48:53.190 --> 00:48:56.650 somebody a saint is the cult, and I mean a cult 00:48:56.650 --> 00:48:59.889 in a good way, a cult in that people recognize 00:48:59.889 --> 00:49:02.070 the goodness of this man and they recognize the 00:49:02.070 --> 00:49:05.550 fact that he is somebody who led a life of exemplary 00:49:05.550 --> 00:49:09.670 service so that we strive to follow the example 00:49:09.670 --> 00:49:12.570 that they set. Ultimately, the saints are ones 00:49:12.570 --> 00:49:15.329 that follow the example of Christ and set that 00:49:15.329 --> 00:49:17.110 example of Christ for others. So ultimately, 00:49:17.480 --> 00:49:19.579 when we look at the lives of the saints, they 00:49:19.579 --> 00:49:21.920 are leading us to Christ, or leading us to follow 00:49:21.920 --> 00:49:25.139 the example of Christ. So I think certainly that 00:49:25.139 --> 00:49:28.280 his being awarded the Medal of Honor will bring 00:49:28.280 --> 00:49:31.059 attention to him and have people realize that, 00:49:31.219 --> 00:49:33.619 yes, it would be a good idea to follow his example, 00:49:33.980 --> 00:49:37.739 to try to instill hope in others, to try to bring 00:49:37.739 --> 00:49:40.300 the love that others have for them, or the love 00:49:40.300 --> 00:49:43.139 that God has for us, and share that love with 00:49:43.139 --> 00:49:44.860 others, which is certainly what Father Kaphon 00:49:44.860 --> 00:49:48.780 did throughout his entire life. In terms of the 00:49:48.780 --> 00:49:53.039 process for Sainthood, one of the, well, we have 00:49:53.039 --> 00:49:55.159 all of the documents over in Rome, so they are 00:49:55.159 --> 00:49:57.940 considering these documents in Rome. In the process 00:49:57.940 --> 00:50:00.380 of Sainthood, for his to be ultimately named 00:50:00.380 --> 00:50:03.920 a saint, we will have to prove that there were 00:50:03.920 --> 00:50:06.360 certain miracles worked through his intercession, 00:50:06.699 --> 00:50:10.420 meaning that people prayed to Father Capon, asking 00:50:10.420 --> 00:50:13.659 Father Capon to pray for their needs also. We're 00:50:13.659 --> 00:50:16.780 currently working on a couple alleged miracles 00:50:16.780 --> 00:50:19.500 to see if we can prove that those healings were 00:50:19.500 --> 00:50:23.420 miraculous events or events that had no scientific 00:50:23.420 --> 00:50:26.519 reason for happening. We're working on, like 00:50:26.519 --> 00:50:28.280 I say, proving two of those. Hopefully we'll 00:50:28.280 --> 00:50:30.940 be done with those by this summer. We'll have 00:50:30.940 --> 00:50:33.119 that information over in Rome also, and hopefully 00:50:33.119 --> 00:50:35.940 that will be it. impetus for the movement on 00:50:35.940 --> 00:50:38.500 his cause for St. Ted also. And we'll also be 00:50:38.500 --> 00:50:40.639 covering that on Veterans Radio. Thank you very 00:50:40.639 --> 00:50:42.820 much, Father Hadzi. I know you've got a busy 00:50:42.820 --> 00:50:46.199 day today there in Wichita. God bless, and we 00:50:46.199 --> 00:50:48.340 will be talking to you shortly. Thank you for 00:50:48.340 --> 00:50:52.199 having me. Okay, Roy, you're there. We've got 00:50:52.199 --> 00:50:53.940 about a minute and a half to give you. How about 00:50:53.940 --> 00:50:59.400 some last thoughts? Well, what I got out of a 00:50:59.400 --> 00:51:05.030 couple of years of talking to his friends, He 00:51:05.030 --> 00:51:08.250 was a very unusual man. I think some of the descriptions 00:51:08.250 --> 00:51:12.829 that you hear about him tend to tip over into 00:51:12.829 --> 00:51:16.590 cliches. Yes, he was good. Yes, he was holy. 00:51:18.590 --> 00:51:23.630 But I think he put on a clinic for a little less 00:51:23.630 --> 00:51:26.230 than a year in Korea about not only how to lead, 00:51:26.610 --> 00:51:29.949 but how to witness Christianity. And what I mean 00:51:29.949 --> 00:51:33.000 by that is he just didn't talk about it very 00:51:33.000 --> 00:51:35.019 much. He didn't say much to anybody. I mean, 00:51:35.019 --> 00:51:38.019 that was kind of his natural personality anyway. 00:51:38.639 --> 00:51:42.460 But he didn't go around judging people or jabbing 00:51:42.460 --> 00:51:44.059 fingers and telling people that they need to 00:51:44.059 --> 00:51:48.219 go to mass or else. His way of witnessing Christianity 00:51:48.219 --> 00:51:51.420 and leadership was if he saw somebody dig in 00:51:51.420 --> 00:51:54.099 a latrine, he went over and started digging with 00:51:54.099 --> 00:51:57.559 him. If the guy asked him, well, who are you? 00:51:57.559 --> 00:52:00.349 He wouldn't necessarily say, I'm Chaplain. or 00:52:00.349 --> 00:52:02.949 Father Capon, he would say, I'm Capon. How you 00:52:02.949 --> 00:52:07.010 doing? He ran across the battlefields of many 00:52:07.010 --> 00:52:10.250 battles, rescuing the wounded. People saw him 00:52:10.250 --> 00:52:14.590 do these things. And it kind of snuck up on them 00:52:14.590 --> 00:52:17.369 that this guy is a chaplain. He didn't always 00:52:17.369 --> 00:52:20.969 evoke that. And so when things really fell apart 00:52:20.969 --> 00:52:24.510 and they needed a leader, they would do what 00:52:24.510 --> 00:52:27.170 he asked, where they wouldn't necessarily do 00:52:27.170 --> 00:52:31.510 what their officers ordered them to do. It was 00:52:31.510 --> 00:52:34.389 just amazing how he rallied hundreds of people 00:52:34.389 --> 00:52:37.570 to do things without saying very much at all. 00:52:37.730 --> 00:52:41.730 He led and witnessed by example and that's why 00:52:41.730 --> 00:52:44.769 you see just this burning intensity among the 00:52:44.769 --> 00:52:49.050 people who are still alive who knew him. They 00:52:49.050 --> 00:52:52.110 just saw this and were just awestruck by it. 00:52:52.110 --> 00:52:55.639 They still are. Well, well said Roy. Thank you 00:52:55.639 --> 00:52:58.619 very much real quick. Give us how our listeners 00:52:58.619 --> 00:53:02.760 can can get a copy of the miracle of Father Capone 00:53:02.760 --> 00:53:08.320 Kansas .com slash Capone and You'll see an entry. 00:53:08.420 --> 00:53:11.019 You'll see this giant series that I did in 09 00:53:11.019 --> 00:53:15.199 The Travis Heine and I did and 09 you can this 00:53:15.199 --> 00:53:17.239 the series is now a book That's got a lot more 00:53:17.239 --> 00:53:19.159 information than it, but that's how you can order 00:53:19.159 --> 00:53:21.909 it and you can see all the stories that we've 00:53:21.909 --> 00:53:23.869 done about this man. It's well worth reading. 00:53:24.849 --> 00:53:26.510 Thank you very much for being on the program, 00:53:26.730 --> 00:53:30.010 Roy. Thank you, Bob. You have a blessed day. 00:53:30.550 --> 00:53:37.130 Gentlemen? Tom? Dale? I think it's just a great 00:53:37.130 --> 00:53:41.289 story. I wanted to kind of jump in and say, there 00:53:41.289 --> 00:53:43.230 are chaplains from all of the religions of the 00:53:43.230 --> 00:53:45.809 world that are in the military, and they all 00:53:45.809 --> 00:53:49.190 do such an amazing job. They throw caution to 00:53:49.190 --> 00:53:51.489 the wind, they go out to minister to the wounded, 00:53:52.230 --> 00:53:55.869 and they get wounded, and they get killed, and 00:53:55.869 --> 00:53:57.469 it doesn't make any difference what religion 00:53:57.469 --> 00:53:59.289 you are. They are there, they give you that peace 00:53:59.289 --> 00:54:02.769 that you need. Tom, last word. I just want to 00:54:02.769 --> 00:54:05.170 thank you for having me here today to witness 00:54:05.170 --> 00:54:08.389 and take part in this discussion. It was beautiful. 00:54:08.550 --> 00:54:10.610 It really was. And you're going to be having 00:54:10.610 --> 00:54:13.130 a fundraiser very shortly. Next week. That's 00:54:13.130 --> 00:54:16.989 cool. Well, this is it folks. Bob Gould, wrapping 00:54:16.989 --> 00:54:19.409 up another wonderful program right here at Veterans 00:54:19.409 --> 00:54:23.349 Radio. And until next Saturday at 0900 hours, 00:54:23.530 --> 00:55:22.780 you are dismissed. All views and opinions expressed 00:55:22.780 --> 00:55:25.159 on this program are not necessarily of Veterans 00:55:25.159 --> 00:55:28.239 Radio or this station. Veterans Radio is a production 00:55:28.239 --> 00:55:30.059 of Veterans Radio LLC.