Roman Catholic Chaplain Emil J. Kapaun, United States Army recipient of the Medal of Honor. (Wikipedia)
12 Apr 2021 The Wichita Eagle | By Michael Stavola
It s been nearly 70 years since he was killed in a Korean War prison camp and only a month since the announcement that his remains were identified. Now, Father Emil Kapaun s remains will be laid to rest in a place chosen by his family.
Kapaun will be temporarily laid to rest this fall in a crypt inside the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception at the corner of Central and Broadway in Wichita, according to nephew Ray Kapaun, who made the announcement on Saturday.
Family Of Father Kapaun Says Remains Will Be Interred In Wichita Cathedral kmuw.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kmuw.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Remains of Father Emil Kapaun to be returned to Wichita
The recently-identified remains of Father Emil Kapaun are being returned to Wichita.
The Catholic Diocese of Wichita announced that the remains will be placed inside the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. A date has not been announced for the placement. The remains were discovered earlier this year, and the Defense Department’s POW/MIA Accounting Agency made the announcement of the discovery in early March.
Father Kapaun was a native of Marion County, a former priest of the Diocese and he served as a U.S. Army chaplain during World War II and the Korean War. He died in 1951 as a prisoner of war in Korea.
Kansas Catholics recall priest’s wartime ministry, heroism in POW camp
Father Emil Joseph Kapaun, a Kansas priest and a military chaplain, who died May 23, 1951, in a North Korean prisoner of war camp, is pictured circa 1943. A candidate for sainthood, he died ministering to prisoners of war during the Korean War. (CNS photo/U.S. Army courtesy The Catholic Advance)
By Christopher M. Riggs • Catholic News Service • Posted March 11, 2021
WICHITA, Kan. (CNS) William Hansen kept his silence for over 50 years about being one of the POWs who buried Father Emil Kapaun’s body after the priest died May 23, 1951.
In 2005, Hansen was in his doctor’s office at a VA Hospital in Florida when he read an article about the U.S. Army chaplain who died a hero in a North Korean POW camp in Pyongyang.
Father Emil Joseph Kapaun, a Kansas priest and a military chaplain, who died May 23, 1951, in a North Korean prisoner of war camp, is pictured circa 1943. A candidate for sainthood, he died ministering to prisoners of war during the Korean War. (CNS photo/U.S. Army courtesy The Catholic Advance) March 11, 2021 Catholic News Service WICHITA, Kan. William Hansen kept his silence for over 50 years about being one of the POWs who buried Father Emil Kapaun s body after the priest died May 23, 1951. In 2005, Hansen was in his doctor s office at a VA Hospital in Florida when he read an article about the U.S. Army chaplain who died a hero in a North Korean POW camp in Pyongyang.