On November 11th, we observe Veterans Day. This day is the anniversary of the signing of
the armistice, which ended World War I in 1918.
On this day we thank all military personnel who serve the U.S. in all
wars, particularly living veterans.
Sometimes overlooked are our Catholic military
chaplains. Did you know that there were
four U.S. Naval vessels named for Catholic military chaplains? The bravery of four chaplains in the line of
duty has been recognized by the U.S. Navy vessels named in their honor.
Father Aloysius H.
Schmitt and the USS Schmitt
Father Schmitt was born in St. Lucas, Iowa on December 4,
1909. Serving on his first sea tour, he
was hearing confessions on board the battleship USS Oklahoma when the Japanese
attacked Pearl Harbor. When the ship
capsized, he was trapped along with several other members of the crew where
only a small porthole provided a means of escape. He assisted others through the porthole,
giving up his own chance to escape, so that more men might be rescued. He received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal
posthumously for his courage and self-sacrifice.
Father Joseph T.
O’Callahan and the USS O’Callahan
Fr. O’Callahan was born in Boston, Massachusetts on May 14,
1905. He was aboard the aircraft carrier
USS Franklin when the Japanese attacked it off the coast of Kobe, Japan on
March 19, 1945. After the ship received
two well-placed bomb hits, fuel and ammunition began exploding and fires were
rampant. The commanding officer of the
carrier saw Fr. O’Callahan manning a hose which laid water on the bombs so they
would not explode, throwing hot ammunition overboard, giving last rites of his
church to the dying, organizing firefighters, and performing other acts of
courage. He received the Purple Heart
for wounds he sustained that day and the Congressional Medal of Honor. He was the first chaplain of any of the armed
services to be so honored.
Father Vincent R.
Capodanno and the USS Capodanno
Fr. Capodanno was born in Richmond County, New York on
February 13, 1929. Having requested duty
with the Marines in Vietnam, he joined the First Marine Division in 1996 as a
battalion chaplain. While seeking to aid
a wounded corpsman, he was fatally wounded on September 4, 1967 by enemy sniper
fire. He was posthumously awarded the
Medal of Honor “for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of his life
above and beyond the call of duty…” He
had previously been awarded the Bronze Star Medal for bravery under battle
conditions.
Father John Francis
Laboon, SJ and the USS Laboon
Fr. Laboon, born in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania on April 11,
1921, was a member of the Class of 1944 at the U.S. Naval Academy and a
distinguished athlete. In World War II, Ensign
Laboon was awarded the Silver Star for bravery for diving from his submarine to
rescue a downed aviator while under heavy fire.
Lieutenant Laboon left the Navy after the war to enter the Jesuits. He returned to his beloved “blue and gold” as
a chaplain in 1958. For the next
twenty-one years, he served the Navy-Marine Corps Team.
Check the U.S. Catholic Bishop’s website at www.usccb for additional information about these
brave veterans.
-Robin Swank
