Vietnam - The June 14 Mass was held in Da Nang’s cathedral...

Navy Chaplain Honored in Vietnam 

Despite Communist Objections 

BY CARL BUNDERSON

Bishop Joseph Chau Ngoc Tri of Da Nang recently said Mass in honor of Father Vincent Capodanno, a U.S. chaplain killed during the Vietnam War, and encouraged his people to ask the priest’s intercession.

Ted Bronson, a retired Navy Captain, told CNA June 26 that Bishop Tri “is a brave bishop, fostering Capodanno under the umbrella” of Vietnamese communism.

The Mass, said on June 14, marked the 55th anniversary of Father Capodanno’s priestly ordination. Father Capodanno was ordained for the Maryknoll Missionary order, and later became a chaplain for the U.S. Navy.

While with Maryknoll, Father Capodanno served in Taiwan and Hong Kong, and then requested to be reassigned as a chaplain with the Marines. He was sent to Vietnam in 1966, and requested an extension to his tour of duty when it was up.

On Sept. 4, 1967 his unit was in the Que Son Valley near Da Nang, and became outnumbered by North Vietnamese forces. As American soldiers were being gunned down, Father Capodanno went about giving Viaticum and Anointing to the dying, and medical aid to the wounded.

Shortly after reassuring a wounded Marine, Father Capodanno went to another soldier who had called out for help. Both he and the solider were shot, and died. He was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1969.

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