| Of Father Capodanno's involvement in Operation Swift, John Lobur has said " I did not see Father when we embarked and I did not notice him anywhere as we approached the shooting. I assumed he was with Lieutenant Murray who was our company commander at the time." Typically a chaplain would remain with the command post as he- like the skipper, a corpsmen, air and artillery forward observers and radiomen- were not expected to run right up the gut like we were.  "I am confident they were behind our second platoon which would have kept them out of the immediate ambush." Lobur further remembers, "I don't know any of this for sure, but I do remember that, as soon as the heavy firing and mortars started, while we were trying to form the right wing or flank on the right of the hill, Father Capodanno was already up with us. Things were happening very fast, but I remember being amazed to see him up there with us, as the CP did move up, but not till a little later. Anyway, there he was, standing straight up right in the area where the machine gunner was on the top of the hill. There were bullets flying everywhere, constant mortars falling right on us and there he was, the only guy standing up on the whole field of battle. I remember shouting at him to get down, but he could not hear over the roar. Someone else was shouting at him, too, but I do not remember who. This all occupied only a few seconds because there were enemy all among us and I was still trying to comprehend the immensity of the engagement. I do remember that somehow I became aware that Father was hit. "The next memory I have of him is that he was dragging someone through that same little open area in front of where the NVA machine gun was. We again shouted for him to get down. At the time, I was on my belly but not yet in the bomb crater where I ultimately ended-up. My next memory of Father is of him rapidly crawling on all fours through the same open area and this time I saw him get hit in the leg and go down and get right back up. These were all just quick glances, as we had our hands full with the NVA right on top of us. The last time I saw Father Capodanno alive, he was in the same area, kind of between our position and the First platoon, but no more than 20 feet from us. He had a white stole around his neck. He had something in his left hand. He was in a sitting/kneeling position, kind of sitting on his own feet. He was leaned over saying something to a wounded guy who was laying there on his back, I do not remember who the guy was, but my impression from then is that he was a corpsman and that he was a big person. I did not see Father get hit. This all happened during the first five or ten minutes when the firing was continuous. The NVA were mixed right in with us and the issue was very much in doubt. In fact, any sane betting person would have seen it as a sure thing for the NVA. It's kind of funny when I think back on it that I saw plenty of fearless and reckless acts performed by the enemy, but I never once saw them risking their lives for one another or even tending to their wounded. I wonder what they thought when they saw Father exposing himself to their fire, the stole and lack of weapons signifying he was a Man of God, actually trading his life for the sake of assisting an obviously dying comrade on his own journey from this world to the next. If any of the NVA lived, they are probably still talking about it." I can add, there has been some discussion about the amount of time Father Capodanno was on the battlefield before he was killed. I cannot emphasize strongly enough that it does not matter!! The Padre would have stayed out there until his mission was complete (saving all that he could) or he was killed. It was amazing that he was able to do what he did. I am certain that I would have perished if not for our Grunt Padre. If I had died my two children and three grandchildren would not exist! Fred Tancke stated, "everyone else out there was doing his job. Rifleman, machine gunner, corpsman, radioman, etc. We had to be there, the Father did not. He chose to rescue and attend to others and in so doing gave his life." |
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