John Moore of Gallup, N.M., had a special well-wisher as he set out on a pilgrimage from Santa Fe, N.M., to Pilsen to honor the late Father Emil Kapaun.

He visited Medal of Honor recipient Hershey Miyamur, who was a prisoner of war in the same Korean POW camp where Kapaun died in 1951 while tending to other sick and wounded POWs.

After visiting Miyamur, Moore began his 640-mile trek, carrying a wooden cross to be given to the Father Kapaun Guild. Moore started his trip in late September, guild member Rose Mary Neuwirth said.

Moore plans to arrive at Pilsen a few days before Veterans Day, and to make the final stage of his trip Nov. 11 from the Kapaun farmstead to the Catholic Church in Pilsen. After the Veterans Day Mass, he will present the cross to the Father Kapaun Guild.

The cross is 47 inches tall, the same size as a cross carved by Jerry Fink in the POW camp in Kapaun’s honor after his death, Neuwirth said.

Moore learned about Kapaun’s history and the guild reading a magazine article and contacted Neuwirth.