[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 162 (Tuesday, October 10, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1347-E1348]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             50TH ANNIVERSARY OF FATHER CAPODANNO'S PASSING

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. DANIEL M. DONOVAN, JR.

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 10, 2017

  Mr. DONOVAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the 50th anniversary of 
the passing of Father Vincent Capodanno.
   Fr. Capodanno was born on February 13, 1929, in Mariners Harbor on 
Staten Island. Growing up, he attended P.S. 44 and Curtis High School, 
after which he attended Fordham University for one year. A proud 
lifelong Staten Islander, he loved volunteering in the Staten Island 
community. Perhaps this dedication to serving others led him to find 
his true calling from God.
   Vincent Capodanno made a decision to devote his life to God and 
joined the Maryknoll

[[Page E1348]]

Missionary Seminary in Ossining, New York. He was ordained as a priest 
in June 1957 and spent the rest of his life serving all of God's 
children. After his ordination, Fr. Capodanno traveled to Taiwan as a 
missionary and then ventured to Hong Kong to teach disadvantaged 
children. As America's involvement in Vietnam increased, he decided to 
join the Army as a chaplain. It was in the jungles of Vietnam where Fr. 
Capodanno sacrificed his life protecting others.
   On September 4, 1967, as American troops were taking fire, Fr. 
Capodanno moved from soldier to soldier administering Last Rites. By 
then, the enemy had shot him over 20 times. Despite it all, he carried 
on and with his dying breath, he used his body to protect his fellow 
Americans from the gunfire. At just 38 years old, Fr. Vincent Capodanno 
died as a man of peace during a war of destruction. His heroic actions 
earned him the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Silver Star, and the Medal of 
Honor.
   Mr. Speaker, Fr. Vincent Capodanno embodied the virtues of courage, 
altruism, and piety. While many know him as the namesake of one of 
Staten Island's thoroughfares, we must never forget the sacrifices he 
made. He was a true American hero, and with the recent anniversary of 
his death, I rise to salute him and everything he did for his 
community, country, and faith.

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