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Father Dave welcomes author John Stansifer to the show to talk about Father Emil Kapaun, the most decorated chaplain in U.S. military history. John has written over 20 screenplays, specializing in biopics and historical true stories. He spent six years in the Kansas Army National Guard as a mortar gunner and served alongside Vietnam War veterans, whose stories further developed his interest in military history. His latest book is called \u201cNo Bullet Got Me Yet: The Relentless Faith of Father Kapaun.\u201d\xa0

\u201cNo Bullet Got Me Yet\u201d is a collection of letters written by, to and about Emil Kapaun, a Catholic priest and army chaplain in the Korean War. Archived by the Father Kapaun Guild, the letters comprise the record of Kapaun's heroism in the 1st Cavalry Division in Korea in the summer of 1950, and the sacrificial service he provided fellow POWs after he was captured by Chinese troops in November. He died at POW Camp in 1951 and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama in 2013.

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Father Kapaun, John explains, had been a priest for about a year when Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941, and joined the Chaplains Corp in the aftermath. He served as an auxiliary chaplain at a military airbase in the United States for two years, and after D-Day, June 6, 1944, decided he wanted to serve overseas alongside American soldiers. He was sent to the China-Burma-India Theater of the war in 1945.\xa0

Father Dave asks, \u201cWhat do you think, having investigated his life, was so compelling for him about serving in the military as a chaplain? Why was he so attracted to that?\u201d

\u201cHe felt like he needed to protect his boys in a spiritual way,\u201d John responds. \u201cAnd he was aware of martyrs and proto-martyrs, and he had been training for the Church since age 7, so it was obvious where his life was going to lead.\u201d

After World War II, Father Kapaun obtained a master\u2019s degree in education at Catholic University before rejoining the military as a chaplain in 1948. He was eventually sent to Korea in 1950. \u201cIt was the rise of communism that spurred him on," John says, \u201cHe thought the Nazis were nothing. He thought that communism was going to be the bigger threat. Turns out he was correct.\u201d

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John goes on to discuss Father Kapaun\u2019s capture, heroics, and time in a Chinese POW camp in the winter of 1951 before his death. \u201cThe survivors that knew him,\u201d Father Dave comments, \u201cdescribe him as a joyful, faithful presence during those dark times.\u201d\xa0\xa0

\u201cHe never stopped.\u201d John says. \u201cHe got up before dawn and scrounged for food \u2014 never for himself, it was only to share with other people.\xa0 He constantly offered prayers, helped other POWs with their wounds and sickness. He was tireless with it.\u201d

Father Dave asks John about the title of the book, \u201cNo Bullet Got Me Yet.\u201d\xa0

\u201cFather Kapaun was a frequent letter writer,\u201d John says, \u201cand in one of his last letters Father Kapaun actually wrote- \u2018No bullet got me yet, although machine gunners sprayed us with bullets, but the prayers of our loved ones helped us escape.\u2019 When I heard that phrase, \u2018no bullet got me yet,\u2019 I knew that was the title of the book \u2014 that represents to me a philosophy that you keep the faith until your enemy kills you, and you keep going until you achieve your goal.\u201d