They Called Him Father

I just finished reading a biography of a Catholic chaplain who died during the Vietnam War. It is an inspiring volume of one man’s love for his fellow man, and well worth reading.

Following are several excerpts from the book surrounding the closing minutes of Father Vincent Capodanno’s life. To provide some understanding of the setting, the Marine unit which the priest served was involved in an intense fire fight with North Vietnamese soldiers and the Viet Cong when the military minister sprang into action.

“Corporal Brooks saw Father Vincent move to the exposed area where Sergeant Peters was lying. Suddenly, he was hit by shrapnel from a mortar round. Spots of blood could be seen on his right shoulder, and he held his arms stiffly by his side.

He was determined to do what he was there to do. He wasn’t going to let the enemy interfere with his business. He would not get down because he wanted to look the wounded in their eyes.”

“Sergeant Howard Manfra was wounded five times and lay in severe pain on an exposed slope between the crossfire of two NVA automatic weapons… Father Vincent managed to reach the sergeant, calm him and drag him into a depression.”

“Father Capodanno was wounded again in the late afternoon. He received shrapnel in his arms, hand and legs, but refused medical attention. Though the priest could have left the battlefield at any time, he wanted to stay with his men.”

“The chaplain was crouched down under cover, but when he noticed a wounded medic, he jumped up and ran over twenty feet to the soldier. I heard enemy machine gun fire and the chaplain fell by the corpsman’s side. He actually jumped out in front of the North Vietnamese machine gun which lay about 15 yards from the wounded. He had begun to give medical attention to the medic and three or four other wounded Marines when the machine gunner opened up and killed him. He received 27 bullet wounds in the spine, neck and head.”

“Thirty two years after his death, his brother, James Capodanno, officially accepted the Congressional Medal of Honor on behalf of his brother, Vincent, for his heroic conduct on the battlefield.”

“Greater love has no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)

By William McDonald, PhD. Excerpt from "Concepts, Teachings, Practicalities and Stories"