Gov. Laura Kelly on Friday signed a bill honoring Father Emil Kapaun, a military chaplain from Pilsen who received the Congressional Medal of Honor for ministering to soldiers on the battlefield and in a prison death camp during the Korean War.
Kelly signed the bill directing the Capitol Preservation Committee to approve plans to place a permanent memorial honoring Kapaun on the grounds of the state Capitol.
“Father Emil Kapaun was known for his selfless, dedicated service and providing care to all, regardless of their religion or beliefs,” Kelly said in a statement.
“I am proud to honor his legacy and sacrifices for our country,” she said.
Kapaun was captured by the North Korean army and its Chinese allies in November 1950.
He escaped when his captors were shot by allied soldiers, but he was taken prisoner a second time when he volunteered to stay behind with the wounded.
He was force marched to a prisoner of war camp where he continued to aid captured soldiers.
Kapaun risked his life by sneaking around the camp after dark, searching for food, nursing the sick and encouraging his fellow soldiers to keep their faith.
At least once, Kapaun was forced to sit outside in freezing temperatures without clothes for disobeying his captors.
He also openly defied his captors by conducting a sunrise service on Easter morning in 1951.
Kapaun tended to the sick and wounded, scoured for food, and built fires against guards’ commands while he was imprisoned.
Shortly after his capture, Kapaun shoved aside an enemy soldier preparing to execute another captured soldier.
He died in captivity on May 23, 1951. He was 35.
He is most highly decorated chaplain in U.S. Army history.
During a sometimes emotional hearing before the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee, Kapaun was remembered as a “truly great Kansan” who was “truly the best of what humanity has to offer.”
“When I talk with any of the POWs that were in that camp with Father, they all say the same thing: He always took care of others’ needs before he thought of himself,” Kapaun’s nephew, Ray, told the committee.
“He would offer his own meager rations to a fellow POW even when he was starving himself,” he told the committee.
“His self sacrifice saved so many lives in that camp and even to this day, with the few POWs that are still alive, when they talk of Father Emil, they still get tears in their eyes,” he said.
In 1993, Kapaun received the title of “servant of God” from the Roman Catholic Church, the second of four stages to being named a saint.
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran and U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner also submitted testimony in support of the memorial. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also endorsed the memorial.
“By erecting a statue of Father Kapaun within the Kansas state Capitol, we not only pay tribute to a local hero but also celebrate the values the define our state and our nation,” Moran said in his written testimony.
“This monument would serve as a lasting symbol of selfless service, moral fortitude, and the enduring spirit of Kansans in the face of adversity.”
The secretary of administration is authorized to receive money from any grants, gifts, contributions made toward construction of the memorial.
No public funds will go toward the project.
