New graphic novel tells story of Father Emil Kapaun: Army chaplain, Korean War POW

A nonprofit dedicated to supporting the U.S. Army has released a graphic novel highlighting the story and service of Father Emil Kapaun, the Catholic military chaplain who gave his life in a prisoner-of-war camp during the Korean War and has an active cause for canonization.

Since 2018, the Association of the United States Army, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the U.S. Army through education and professional development initiatives, has released four graphic novels every year. The comic books seek to highlight the heroic lives and stories of Army Medal of Honor recipients.

This fall, the organization chose to feature the story of Father Kapaun, who received the Medal of Honor posthumously in 2013. Father Kapaun is the first military chaplain to be featured in the comic book series, which was released Sept. 23.

“I was doing research for a different graphic novel and came across the story of Father Kapaun, and his life really piqued my interest,” Joseph Craig, director of AUSA Book Program, told OSV News. “The more I learned about him, the more fascinating the story became. Based on the reception we are receiving about this particular issue, we are finding other people agree with that.”

Drawn and written by comic book professionals who have previously worked on Marvel and DC Comics projects, the new, eight-page comic presents Father Kapaun’s story in an engaging, accurate manner.

“These people really know how to make a story come to life and they really do Father Kapaun’s story justice,” Craig said. “We also work with a lot of military historians who volunteer their time to review the materials, to make sure we are getting the details all right. These are remarkable nonfiction stories that don’t need any embellishment.”

“As long as we present these stories in a straightforward way, people are going to love them,” he said.

Ordained in 1940 as a priest of the Diocese of Wichita, Kan., Father Kapaun served as a military chaplain during World War II and the Korean War. While deployed in Korea, he was forced to surrender with his unit to Chinese forces. He was sent to a prisoner-of-war camp in North Korea where he continued to minister and serve his fellow POWs until he fell ill and died in May 1951. He held the rank of captain.

The cause for his canonization was formally opened in 1993, and in February of this year, he was declared “Venerable.”

“When you read about his selflessness, that alone is so inspirational,” Craig said. “His bravery on the battlefield as well as his spiritual compassion to his troops and in the prison camp was incredible. It’s a story that really reaches across generations and across all different peoples as Army fans are finding his story inspirational while Catholics and other believers are drawing spiritual nourishment from this story.”

Despite its short length, Craig hopes that readers will be inspired by Father Kapaun’s story and will be encouraged to do additional research about this priest’s inspirational life.

“These books center on the Medal of Honor citation and they are only eight pages long so we can only give a brief glimpse into these remarkable stories,” Craig said. “We hope that we present it in such an interesting way that it makes the reader want to learn more about Father Kapaun.”

Those interested in the graphic novel highlighting the story and service of Father Emil Kapaun can view it or download a free copy at ausa.org/kapaun or ausa.org/moh.

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