Emil J. Kapaun was born in Pilsen, Kansas, on April 20, 1916, was ordained on June 9, 1940, was captured by Chinese Communists on November 2, 1950, and died as a prisoner of war at Pyoklong, Korea, on May 23, 1951. He was remembered with the words, "Nurtured by the soil of Kansas He consecrated the soul of Korea."