Father Kapaun posthumously receives Congressional Medal of Honor

Kapaun in Korea

Yes, a man of peace can be awarded our nation's highest military honor. Father Emil Kapaun, a chaplain and POW during the Korean War, posthumously received this well-deserved tribute yesterday from President Obama.

From the Wichita Eagle:

Kapaun's nine fellow prisoners of war from the Korean War, most of whom have openly said they don’t particularly care for Obama or his politics, all thrilled to the speech in which the president described Kapaun’s heroics.

"This is an amazing story," Obama told hundreds of onlookers in the East Room of the White House. "Father Kapaun has been called a shepherd in combat boots. His fellow soldiers who felt his grace and his mercy called him a saint, a blessing from God.

"Today we bestow another title on him – recipient of our nation’s highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor."

Obama, toward the end of the speech, asked Kapaun's POW friends to stand. The men, all of whom were starved and tortured and battled the cold and disease along with Kapaun in a North Korean prison camp in 1950 and 1951, stood up as the president and hundreds of onlookers clapped in sustained applause.

More from the Washington Post:

They are all in their 80s now — these former POWs during the Korean War.

One recalls in rapid-fire bursts how Father Emil Kapaun sneaked out of the barracks at night, risking his life to bring back morsels of food for his fellow prisoners.

Another remembers seeing the young American priest use a rock and a piece of metal to form a pan and then collect water to wash the hands and faces of the wounded.

A third chokes up when he tells of being injured and having an enemy soldier standing over him, rifle pointed; Kapaun walked up, pushed aside the muzzle and carried off the wounded man.

The native from rural Kansas didn't survive his ordeal in the North Korean prison camp--he died in 1951 and he was buried in a mass grave.

An even higher honor may come Kapaun's way. He's a candidate for sainthood.

Related posts:

Rep. Tiahrt asks that legislation to award Father Kapaun a Medal of Honor move forward

Second Father Kapaun documentary trailer

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