"While with the 8th Cavalry Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division, he was awarded the Bronze Star for his heroism in action against the enemy near Kumchon, Korea. Father Kapaun was taken prisoner on 2 November, 1950, when 'although fully aware of the great danger, he voluntarily remained behind and when last seen was administering medical treatment and rendering religious rites wherever he found need. Father Kapaun died May 23, 1951, while in the hands of the enemy, after his heroic services for the prisoners of war had become legendary. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross posthumously."

"Dear Mrs. Kapaun:

"On Saturday, February sixth, the Alexander Goode Lodge of the B'nai Brith, a Jewish Fraternal Organization, held its annual dinner at the Hotel Plaza here in New York on a date close to the anniversary of the sinking of the American transport, U. S. S. Dorchester in which four chaplains — Catholic, Protestant and Jewish — gave up their life belts to service men and so also their lives and sank with the ship beneath the arctic waves.

"Each year for the past four years this Jewish organization has sought to single out military chaplains who you their lives have exemplified the spirit of the original four who went down with the Dorchester. Should it be any cause for wonder that this group should have chosen as the outstanding Army Chaplain of the year, your own good and heroic son — Father Emil? It is true that he died nearly three years ago in North Korea, a martyr and shining example of the American priesthood, but since his death was officially ascertained only this year, the award was given to him at this time.

"Father Emil was the subject of a great eulogy at The Four Chaplains Award Dinner and Bishop Griffiths received, in my name, the enclosed check in the amount of $500.00 which is a testimonial of the Jewish Wool and Worsted Industry in New York to the sacrificial service  p232 rendered to Americans of every religious persuasion by your son.

"I pray Almighty God to console you for the loss of this wonderful, priestly son whom you gave to the Church and to America, that the spiritual and moral values for which he lived and for which he died may remain always an integral part of our great American heritage.

"With every good wish and blessing, I am

Sincerely yours,

F. Cardinal Spellman
Military Vicar"

Military Ordinariate
February 11, 1954

"The Spiritual Bouquet which we at St. John's Seminary send to you is for your wonderful son, Father Emil. Father Emil means a great deal to all of us as men, but more as future priests. He served Christ to the end of his life, just as Christ did for everyone. Your son will live in the minds of all of us who heard the story of his sacrifices for God and for God's loved ones."

"We Catholic men in a section of Los Angeles called Westchester have formed a new council of the Knights of Columbus. We have decided to call it the Father Emil J. Kapaun Council, after the heroic priest who died doing his duties for God and man in Korea, helping the suffering and dying in a POW Red camp.

"We are very pleased and proud to be able to use this name and my only hope is that this council lives up to all that his glorious career symbolizes."

"When I was alerted to accompany a unit to Korea, I asked to be assigned to the 8th Cavalry, so I could be with the two of them.

"Father was with me constantly until the last of July, 1950. He had gone to another battalion to visit the men, and when he heard that I had been seriously wounded he walked several miles to give any assistance he could render.

"I've never known a braver man, a more devoted Christian leader, a more sympathetic listener or a better friend. . . . I've prayed that he would be spared, but God rewarded him in a greater way. . . . Thank you for giving us your son. . . . He is a hero, a Saint if anyone ever was."

December 8, 1953

"Dear Bishop Carroll:

"As secretary-treasurer of the 'Father Kapaun Prisoner of War Memorial Fund', I purposely delayed in communicating with you until the promises we made in captivity materialized in freedom. Those promises were: To erect a small memorial to Father Kapaun perpetuating the memory of this outstanding individual, both as a chaplain and as a man among men. This memorial is to be placed in the parish of his nativity and youth. The second promise was to donate a purse to charity in the fulfillment of our long cherished dream.

"Since my release from the Communist Forces in Korea on September 6, 1953, here is the progress achieved. The arrangements for the construction of the memorial have been made. The Most Reverend James McNulty of Paterson, New Jersey, and Monsignor Carlo Cianci of the St. Michael's parish, Paterson, New Jersey, are actively interested in completing the memorial. On an inclosure to this letter, a sketch of the memorial is set out in rough detail.

"From all over America, England and Puerto Rico and the Philippines contributions have been pouring in for the fund so that now my records reflect that there is more than four-fold the amount Father Kapaun had pledged to donate to charity. The citizens of Paterson, New Jersey, contributed over $1,100.00. This money will be given to Your Excellency to be used for any charity you deem necessary.

"Plans for the presentation of the memorial within not be made without first seeking counsel from Your Excellency, since there may exist questions and problems which I have been unable to foresee. At present these problems can be overcome by correspondence, as I am  p236 now in the process of reporting to my next assignment. Then final plans for the presentation of the memorial may be completed by more expeditious means. Looking forward to that day when our obscure dreams have become a reality.

Yours respectfully,

Ralph A. Nardella
Captain Infantry."

"Father Kapaun's name has become a legend among the POWs who knew him, and the memory of this heroic and gracious priest whose ministrations surmounted denominational barriers will long be revered by Catholics and Protestants alike."

May 4, 1954

"Dear Father Tonne:

"I do not desire any credit for my work. Could I have done the crucifix in precious metals it would not the less take away from the memory of Christ or lend more to the memory of Father Kapaun, 'a man the world should know about.'

"I am extremely humble in the face of Father Kapaun's memory and the life that he led. Here was a man given to live, as 'God intended men to live'. His self sacrifice, his love of his fellowman, and even his love of his enemy marked him more saint than man. I did not know him as well as others, yet to have lived under his influence is like having bathed in the light of graciousness. As a priest of the Catholic Church, he gave to all what I am sure your Holy Father in Rome has come to expect of all his field representatives (that is to put it my own phraseology).

"With the trials and tribulations that beset our men in the hands of the Reds, with the unending onslaughts they made to shake our faith in God, with the cruelty which only man can show to man, with the hunger, the pestilence, with the deprivation all were subjected to, with the dejection, and the complete destitution we were faced with — with all these things that added to the crucible of fire that all men's souls were tested in — Father Kapaun withstood them, and showed the way and the light of the Lord. I cannot add more to his story other than to say I bear him love for showing us how a man must face his adversaries.

Captain Ralph Nardella is the man who deserves the plaudits more than anyone else for the good work that  p239 was done. Captain Ralph was a leader both spiritually and morally in the coils of captivity. He followed the leader­ship of Father Kapaun, and did for his fellowmen that which they could not do for themselves. He was selflessly devoted to his duty as an American and as a Catholic.

"I am singularly in debt to the memory of Father Kapaun and to the leader­ship of Captain Ralph Nardella for enabling me in a very small way to help my fellowmen.

"I am not a Catholic and yet because of the greatness of Father Kapaun and his Church I honor him and it in daily prayer. I have enrolled Father Kapaun's name in a perpetual member­ship of the Society of Jesus. I attended in my undergraduate days the University of Loyola. Not knowing the proto­col between his status and that of the Jesuits I felt nevertheless I could do no less for his memory with a group of educators and priests whom I consider very highly. I wish the folder sent to me by the Jesuit Seminary Association to be forwarded to Father Kapaun's parents. I feel that in this way I can honor them also, for as the tree grows so grows the branch, and may his memory do honor to very wonderful parents."

"A rude cross carved by Major Gerald Fink of Chicago and used by Captain Ralph A. Nardella for religious services when both men were in a Korean Prison camp was blessed yesterday in an impressive ceremony at St. Michael's Catholic Church at the 10:00 o'clock Mass celebrated by the Most Rev. James A. McNulty, Bishop of Paterson.

"Now mounted in a handsome bronze tablet, the cross is a memorial to the heroic Catholic Chaplain, the Rev. Emil J. Kapaun of Pilsen, Kansas. In a grim prison camp,  p240 Father Kapaun won the respect of Captain Nardella and his other fellow prisoners by his utter disregard of his own safety and comfort, and his sacrificial service in behalf of all the prisoners — Protestant, Jewish or Catholic. Chaplain Kapaun died in a prison hospital May 23rd, 1951, at the age of 35.

"The crucifix and the bronze plaque will be displayed in St. Michael's Church this week and then sent to Pilsen where it will remain permanently in St. John's Church."

(Morning Call, Paterson, New Jersey
May 10, 1954)