Over 5,000 people turned out Wednesday morning in Wichita for the funeral Mass for Father Emil Kapaun, whose remains were returned to Kansas 70 years after his death in the Korean War.
People were still driving into the Hartman Arena parking lot as services began around 10 a.m. and the arena was full when the Mass began at 10:30. Father Kapaun’s casket was carried into the arena, and after the service it was taken to downtown Wichita and placed on a horse-drawn military caisson. The casket was then taken in a procession along Central from Veterans Memorial Park to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception to be interred. Thousands of people, many of them children from local Catholic schools, lined the street to watch the procession.
Kansas Senator Jerry Moran attended the Mass and he said the way Father Kapaun lived his life “carries on and changes the world yet today,” and one of the values of having the service in Kansas is to shine a light on that life and have it influence others. Moran said it’s also an opportunity to pay tribute to Kapaun as a soldier and a chaplain.
Father Kapaun was a U.S. Army Chaplain in World War II and the Korean War. He died in 1951 in a prisoner of war camp in Korea. He was awarded a Medal of Honor in 2013 as a result of a bill introduced by Senator Moran and then Kansas Senator Pat Roberts. Kapaun’s remains were identified earlier this year and they were returned to Kansas for services in his hometown of Pilsen and in Wichita.
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly proclaimed Wednesday, September 29th as Father Emil Kapaun Day in the state. In her statement, the Governor said, “He served with honor and dignity, I hope his return home brings relief and closure to his family and his community.”
The Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center Chaplain Service plans a ceremony Thursday at 10 a.m. to honor Father Kapaun and all veterans who have deployed during times of war. The event is open to the public and it will be held at the First Presbyterian Church at 525 North Broadway. It will also be live-streamed on the First Presbyterian Church’s web site.
