Untold Stories: Fr. Capodanno, the 'Grunt Padre' and Marine Hero

“On Sept. 4th, 1967, Father Vincent Capodanno, a Navy Lt. and chaplain, was dying. After an extension request to the jungles of Vietnam, the [C]atholic priest, attached to the 5th Marine Regiment’s 3rd Battalion, was caught in a firefight. . .he was gunned down while shielding the medic from assault.”

“‘I came back to the Church because of Fr. Capodanno. In my life he is a saint.’” —Vietnam veteran

The Vietnam War is one of the dark pages in America’s history—not because the war should never have happened, or because American soldiers were villains (many of them were heroes and humanitarians, in the truest sense), but because the American people and government betrayed the men they sent to die. But there were heroes in that conflict, and they should be remembered and honored—including a brave Catholic Navy/Marine chaplain, Fr. Capodanno.

“[Fr. Capodanno] embraced the chaos – running headfirst into gunfire and exploding mortar rounds, shredding his legs and part of his hand as he administered first aid and the sacrament of last rites to several wounded and dead Marines. He continued on, and the last Marine he aided later recalled his words: ‘Stay quiet Marine. You will be ok. Someone will be here to help you soon. God is with us all this day.’”