May - Korean War Veterans Association

The Editor’s Desk
Art Sharp
6
Kapaun, Faure, Shakespeare, and
the Goetzes: An unlikely quintet©
Iam not a firm believer in signs,
omens, coincidences, etc. Yet, I wonder
if I am misguided in that respect and
whether Chaplain Emil Kapaun is still
at work, 59 years after he died.
As you are no doubt aware, we have
been running a series about Father
Kapaun that appeared originally in the
Wichita [KS] Eagle, which the good
folks there have given us permission to
reprint. (Chapter 3 appears in this issue;
we have five more to go.) One of our
problems was a lack of suitable photos
to accompany the installments. Problem
solved. Did Father Kapaun and his
friends Gabriel Faure, William
Shakespeare, and Eileen and Vernon
Goetz have anything to do with it? Or
was it sheer coincidence?
There are plenty of photos available
from a variety of sources. Some lack the
quality we need to include them in The
Graybeards. Others require a usage or
purchase fee. We don’t print sub-standard
photos unless it is absolutely necessary.
When we do, they appear in a
size that makes a postage stamp look
like a bed sheet by comparison. And, we
do not as a matter of policy purchase
photos. Then, there is the issue of variety.
Since we don’t like to print the same
photos with every installment, we needed
a plethora of photos. We could have
dispatched our staff photographer to
Father Kapaun’s home town, Pilsen,
Kansas to take some pictures. But, we
don’t have a staff photographer.
Besides, the distance between our headquarters
in Rocky Hill, CT and Pilsen,
KS is 1,480.66 miles. That’s a long way
to go just to take a few pictures. What to
do?
I was preparing Chapter 3 for this
issue, pondering the acquisition of a
photo to complement it. As I often do
when I’m working, I was listening to
classical music as background. One of
my favorite pieces was playing on his
165th birthday: Gabriel Faure’s
As the monument to him [Kapaun] in Pilsen
says, “Nurtured by the soil of Kansas, He
consecrated the soul of Korea.” There are indications that
his spirit is still alive and doing good today. If not, why did
those photos appear at the exact time we needed them?
“Requiem.” It is a particularly ethereal
piece of music, which leads me
inevitably to deep thought about the
meaning of life and death, what created
the universe, and how to find photos.
There I was pondering the mysteries
of life when, for some inexplicable reason,
I decided to take a break and go
through the pile of Graybeards mail on
my desk. One of the first packages I
opened had…guess what…six highquality
pictures taken by Eileen Goetz,
whose husband Vernon had been a
KWVA member.
Was that a coincidence? A sign? If it
were one or the other, who was responsible?
Were Father Kapaun, William
Shakespeare, Gabriel Faure, and Vernon
Goetz working together to pull off this
miracle?
Let’s face it: Mrs. Goetz’ good deed
in taking and sending the photos was an
act of kindness that will not be forgotten
here in Rocky Hill. She did not have
to do that. Perhaps Father Kapaun whispered
in her ear that the editor of The
Graybeards was in dire need of photos
from his home town. So she sent them.
Maybe not!
Mrs. Goetz’ magnanimous gesture
may not quite fit the magnitude of a
miracle, especially the type that is
required to help elevate Father Kapaun
to sainthood. (According to Roman
Catholic policy, a person hoping to be
promoted to Saint has to perform a minimum
of three documented miracles to
attain that level. It’s the RC equivalent
of earning the Medal of Honor.) But, it
will be remembered here. That’s where
Shakespeare comes in.
He included in his “Friends,
Romans, countrymen…” speech in
Julius Caesar the words, Act III, Scene
2, “The evil that men do lives after
them; the good is oft interred with their
bones.” So, Shakespeare’s role in this
event was to make sure that neither
“good” nor the photos will be interred
with anyone’s bones. Faure’s job was to
provide the music that led to my decision
to stop processing words and start
probing for photos. Vernon Goetz had
the responsibility to make sure the photos
were provided to The Graybeards.
We thank them all—especially Father
Kapaun.
There is no doubt that the revered
chaplain performed a myriad of good
deeds for the troops with whom he mingled
and ultimately died after he was
taken prisoner by the Chinese on 2
November 1950. As the monument to
him in Pilsen says, “Nurtured by the
soil of Kansas, He consecrated the soul
of Korea.” There are indications that his
spirit is still alive and doing good today.
If not, why did those photos appear at
the exact time we needed them?
Was it a coincidence? Did it just
“happen?” Should I simply accept the
appearance of the photos exactly when
they were needed as a random series of
unconnected events? Who knows? All
that matters is that we have the photos,
for which we thank Mrs. Goetz profusely.
Or is that all that matters?
Please send me a sign, Father
Kapaun.
Contents of this editorial copyrighted
by Arthur G. Sharp©
May – June 2010
The Graybeards