I am the blessed 41 year old son of a U.S. Marine who spent about a year and a half in Korea, 1st Marine Division, Mortar Company. Only years later, as a result of researching on my own, (I came to know that he would only speak about his experience of war with his fellow Marines), I came to understand why, in the middle of the night, when I was young boy in the 1970s, years after the war, I would hear my mom and dad walking down the hallway toward the living room. You see, one time, curious as a kid can be, I silently followed them, and peering around the corner, I saw my dad "rocking back and forth" in the chair, his arms crossed tightly across his chest, my mother at his side. All she said was : "It's O.K. Todd. Dad's alright. He's just having a little trouble sleeping tonight." It would not be the last time I heard them make that walk in the middle of the night to the living room. I came to know, after finding the old article from our town newspaper, tucked away in the big Bible that was forever on my parents dresser, that he was in a "hellish incident" and had received a Purple Heart, among other ribbons, medals, and honors "along the way". Again, he would never talk about the war, or his "honors" with me and my sister, but now I understand why. He is my hero, and as a result of his sacrifice, I could not bring myself to USE the incredible education that he made such a sacrifice to afford me, simply to selfishly serve my own little self. He sacrificed "his dreams" by signing up for service as a Marine, and then somehow managed to send me to Catholic school, from elementary school, through the best Catholic High School on Long Island, and all the way through Providence College, also Catholic, (and all on a "telephone man's" salary.) Five years after graduating college, I left my "temporary life" as a Banker/Financier, and decided that I too had to sacrifice like my dad did, though not in exactly the same way. I entered the seminary, and after six more years of study, and loads of prayer, was ordained a Catholic Priest in 2002, and now also serve as a volunteer firefighter and as the department's Chaplain. It is my "Thank You" to God, for giving me a veteran and hero as a father, and a "Thank You" to ALL OF YOU, who allow me to "do what I do" as a priest in this great country, without the threat of being "murdered/martyred" simply for BEING a priest; in MANY countries this is not the case. I love ALL of you, veterans, for what you have done, and are still doing. It is an honor, albeit a sad one, to preside at your wake services and funerals. I post this all, "with a Father's Love".
"God's SOLDIER" will, I pray, be made into a DVD when the series is done, our poor parish cannot afford anything past the most basic cable. Now that I think of it, maybe I'll go to my Dad's, and watch it at their place, with him and Mom.
For those so moved, I recommend the book "The Grunt Padre": The Service and Sacrifice of Father Vincent Robert Capodanno, Vietnam 1965-1967.
"The Grunt Padre"'s "Cause for Canonization", (being declared a "Saint" by the Catholic Church), is proceeding as follows: On May 19, 2002, Capodanno's Cause for Canonization was officially opened, and so he is now referred to as a "Servant of God". In May of 2004 the Initial Documentation was submitted to The Congregation for the Causes of Saints with "CatholicMil" acting as Petitioner and Father Daniel Mode named Postulator. On May 21, 2006 a "Public Decree of Servant of God" was issued by the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA. The statement was made by Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien in Washington D.C.
"The Grunt Padre's" story in short:
(In December 1965, Father Capodanno received his commission as a lieutenant in the Navy Chaplain Corps. He was assigned to the First Marine Division in Vietnam in April 1966. Background: "At 4:30 am, September 4, 1967, during Operation Swift in the Thang Binh District of the Que-Son Valley, elements of the 1st Battalion 5th Marines encountered a large North Vietnamese unit of approximately 2500 men near the village of Dong Son. The outnumbered and disorganized Company D was in need of reinforcements. By 9:14 am, twenty-six Marines were confirmed dead and another company of Marines was committed to the battle. At 9:25 am, the commander of 1st Battalion 5th Marine requested further reinforcements.
Father Capodanno went among the wounded and dying, giving last rites and taking care of his Marines. Wounded once in the face and having his hand almost severed, he went to help a wounded corpsman only yards from an enemy machinegun and was killed. His body was recovered and interred in his family's plot in Saint Peters Cemetery, West New Brighton, Staten Island, New York.
On December 27, 1968, then Secretary of the Navy Paul Ignatius notified the Capodanno family that Lieutenant Capodanno would posthumously be awarded the Medal of Honor in recognition of his selfless sacrifice. The official ceremony was held January 7, 1969.)
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