Manage Delivery
April 20, 1916 — Emil Joseph Kapaun is born in Pilsen
June 9, 1940 — Ordained a priest at what is now Newman University
June 20, 1940 — Celebrates his first Mass at St. John Nepomucene in Pilsen
1943 — Appointed auxiliary chaplain at the Army air base in Herington
November 1943 — Named pastor of St. John Nepomucene parish
August 1944 — Enters the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps
March 1945-May 1946 — Serves in India and Burma
Jan. 3, 1946 — Earns promotion to captain
July 1946 — Leaves the chaplain service
October 1946 — Does graduate work at Catholic University in Washington, D.C.
1948 — Rejoins the Army's chaplain service
December 1949 — Makes final visit home to Pilsen
July 1950 — Ordered to Korea from Japan, a month after North Korea invades South Korea
Aug. 2, 1950 — Earns Bronze Star for heroism in action
November 1950 — Captured near Unsan, North Korea
May 23, 1951 — Dies in a prison camp in Pyoktong, North Korea
Aug. 18, 1951 — Posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions at Unsan
1993 — Named Servant of God by the Roman Catholic Church, the first step toward possible canonization
Oct. 1, 2009 — Recommended for the Medal of Honor
