IV 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 205 
Honoring Army Chaplain Emil J. Kapaun. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 9, 2021 
Mr. MANN (for himself, Mr. LATURNER, and Mr. ESTES) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 
RESOLUTION 
Honoring Army Chaplain Emil J. Kapaun. 
Whereas Chaplain (Captain) Emil J. Kapaun was born to 
parents of German-Bohemian ancestry in the rural farm-
ing community of Pilsen, Kansas on April 20, 1916; 
Whereas Chaplain Kapaun studied classics and philosophy 
and graduated from Conception College in Conception, 
Missouri in June 1936 and Kenrick Theological Semi-
nary in St. Louis, Missouri in 1940; 
Whereas Chaplain Kapaun was ordained a Catholic priest of 
the Diocese of Wichita in 1940; 
Whereas Chaplain Kapaun was appointed auxiliary chaplain 
in 1943 at the Herington Army Airfield near Herington, 
Kansas; 
Whereas, in 1944, Chaplain Kapaun entered the Army Chap-
lain Corps and, following a brief post in Camp Wheeler, 
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Georgia, Chaplain Kapaun served the troops in World 
War II in the Burma and India Theater until 1946; 
Whereas, in 1948, Chaplain Kapaun re-enlisted in the Army 
Chaplain Corps for the second time; 
Whereas Chaplain Kapaun mobilized in support of the Ko-
rean conflict in 1950, and served as a chaplain with the 
1st Cavalry Division in Japan and Korea; 
Whereas Chaplain Kapaun was taken as a prisoner of war by 
Chinese forces on November 2, 1950, during the Battle 
of Unsan; 
Whereas during the fight, which started on November 1, 
1950, Chaplain Kapaun moved repeatedly under enemy 
direct fire to rescue wounded soldiers outside the perim-
eter of his battalion and successfully— 
(1) negotiated with the enemy for the safety of 
wounded soldiers of the United States; 
(2) knocked aside the rifle of a Chinese soldier who 
was about to execute Staff Sergeant Herbert Miller; and 
(3) rejected multiple opportunities for escape and in-
stead volunteered to stay and care for the wounded; 
Whereas, during the time Chaplain Kapaun spent in cap-
tivity, Chaplain Kapaun frequently risked his life by 
sneaking around the camp after dark, foraging for food, 
building fires, caring for the sick, and encouraging his 
fellow soldiers to sustain their faith and their humanity, 
and Chaplain Kapaun risked punishment by leading 
prayers and spiritual services for the other prisoners of 
war; 
Whereas Chaplain Kapaun died of illness and maltreatment 
on May 23, 1951; 
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Whereas, in 1953, Chaplain Kapaun’s surviving fellow pris-
oners of war were released and began to share stories of 
the role of Chaplain Kapaun in their survival; 
Whereas, in 1956, Chaplain Kapaun Memorial High School 
(now known as Kapaun Mt. Carmel Catholic High 
School) was opened and named after Chaplain Kapaun; 
Whereas, in 1993, Pope John Paul II declared Chaplain 
Kapaun a Servant of God, the first stage on the path to 
canonization and the Vatican continues investigations 
into possible canonization; 
Whereas, in 2013, President Barack Obama posthumously 
awarded Chaplain Kapaun the Medal of Honor; 
Whereas, upon bestowing the highest award for valor in the 
United States military, President Obama stated that 
Chaplain Kapaun was ‘‘an American soldier who didn’t 
fire a gun, but who wielded the mightiest weapon of all: 
the love for his brothers so powerful that he was willing 
to die so that they might live’’; 
Whereas, in addition to the Medal of Honor, Chaplain 
Kapaun has been awarded the— 
(1) Distinguished Service Cross; 
(2) Bronze Star Medal with ‘‘V’’ Device; 
(3) Legion of Merit; 
(4) Prisoner of War Medal; 
(5) Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 1 Bronze 
Service Star for Central Burma Campaign; 
(6) World War II Victory Medal; 
(7) Army of Occupation Medal with Japan Clasp; 
(8) Korean Service Medal with 2 Bronze Service 
Stars; 
(9) National Defense Service Medal; and 
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