Post office renamed to honor Kapaun
Staff writer
In a ceremony Tuesday on the street in front of the U.S. post office in Herington, the facility officially was renamed the Captain Emil Kapaun Post Office Building.
Kapaun was honored for his service as a military chaplain, and, particularly, as a chaplain at the Army air base east of Herington during World War II.
Father Isaac Coulter of Holy Family Parish gave the opening prayer.
U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann gave a history of the priest, telling of his capture by North Korean forces during the Korean War and how he served prisoners of all faiths and gave them hope. Kapaun’s remains were returned to Pilsen in 2021.
Mann quoted from Scripture.: “Jesus said, ‘Greater love has no man than to lay down his life for his friends.’”
Kapaun’s nephew, Ray Kapaun, spoke to the crowd.
“Father Kapaun wouldn’t want all this recognition,” he said. “He will always be a Pilsen boy, a country boy, a Kansas boy. Everything he did came from his heart.’”
Dan McDonald, commander of the Herington VFW post, invited everyone to refreshments at the adjacent VFW building, where Harriet Bina of the Kapaun Museum at Pilsen had arranged a display of Kapaun memorabilia, including Kapaun’s posthumous U.S. Medal of Honor and South Korean Medal of Honor.