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
There are so many inspiring, beautiful stories about the great heroes of American history which are scarcely ever told. One happens on them accidentally—buried in a thick, out-of-print biography, in small print on a museum sign, casually and fleetingly mentioned in an obscure educational video. America cannot return to greatness in the future if we do not truly understand the greatness of our past. That is why I am writing an article series to tell a few of these little-known but moving “untold stories” of American greatness.
Previous articles in this series have included Abraham Lincoln’s meeting with newly freed slaves in Richmond, how George Washington saved a slave family from separation, local war heroes who remind us we are a nation of heroes, the remarkable life of slave turned Revolutionary Patriot double agent James Armistead Lafayette, how the white citizens of Greencastle, PA saved their fellow black Americans from Confederate enslavers, and the story of coward-turned-Patriot hero John Callendar. Today’s story is about a Navy/Marine chaplain who died so that his fellow Marines might live.
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. The Americans had been winning the war consistently and clearly when the American leadership suddenly gave up. And so we left our Vietnamese allies to die, over 160,000 and as many as 430,000 of them (on top of the hundreds of thousands the Communists had murdered before and during the war), to be slaughtered and tortured and locked in camps by the Communist Vietnamese, while our brave men who had fought the war came home to slander and scorn. The hideous ways in which “peace” advocates and “conscientious objectors” attacked and abused both veterans who returned and the families of those whose heroes never came home are a blot on America’s history. But there were heroes in that conflict, and they should be remembered and honored—including a brave Catholic Marine chaplain, Fr. Capodanno.
“[Archdiocese of Portland] In 1966, when the bloody Vietnam War was raging, Fr. Vincent Capodanno volunteered for service as a United States Navy Chaplain serving with the U.S. Marines. His mission was to minister to soldiers on the battlefront—an assignment that cost him his life.
Born on Staten Island, NY in 1929, Vincent entered seminary and became a Maryknoll missionary priest in 1957. Maryknoll was widely known for sending its priests into tough situations in foreign lands. Many priests served in remote areas with no running water or electricity.
After serving for nine years in Taiwan and Korea, Fr. Vince requested an assignment as a military chaplain. After officer’s school, he reported to the 7th Marines in Vietnam. Seeing the men’s great need for spiritual aide, he requested an extension when his first tour was complete.
Among the soldiers, he quickly gained a reputation for always being there—for always taking care of his Marines.”
Then came a day when Fr. Capodanno’s dedication was tested at crisis point. Amidst the hell of the Vietnam battle, Fr. Capodanno was a shining light.
“Now serving with the 5th Marines in the infamous Que-Son Valley, he found his battalion engaged in Operation Swift, badly outnumbered by a well-organized Viet Cong [Communist] unit of 2,500 men. At 4:30 am, September 4th, 1967 the battle was underway. By 9:14 am, twenty-six Marines were confirmed dead.
During those early hours, Chaplain Capodanno received word of the battle taking place. He sat in on the morning briefing at the 3rd Battalion’s Combat Operations Center, taking notes and listening closely to radio reports. As reinforcements prepared to load the helicopters, Fr. Vince requested to go with them. ‘It’s not going to be easy’ one of the soldiers heard him say. But his Marines needed him.
Once on the ground, the North Vietnamese opened up on his platoon, which was caught in the open on a small knoll. The fighting was fierce, hand to hand at times, and the platoon was in danger of being overrun. Father Vince went among the wounded and dying, giving last rites and taking care of his Marines. Wounded once in the face and suffering another wound that almost severed his hand, he moved to help a wounded corpsman only yards from an enemy machine gun. Father Capodanno died taking care of one of his men.”
Here’s another description of Fr. Capodanno’s heroic death, from the official Navy website:
“[America’s Navy] He 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.’
Following these words, the ‘Grunt Padre’ went to tend an injured Navy Hospital Corpsman, where he was gunned down while shielding the medic from assault. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his sacrifice.”
Fr. Vince’s death made a profound impact upon the men whom he died serving. One Marine described his admiration for the “Grunt Padre,” in words that seem a fitting end to this article:
“‘He gave his life—that’s what Christ did,’ said Corporal James Hamfeldt, a survivor of the battle. ‘The only way I can justify it, is that he did it because that is what he had to do, and if he is going to be a priest and a Christian there really can’t be any other way. I came back to the Church because of Fr. Capodanno. In my life he is a saint.’”