[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 15767-15768]
[From the U.S. 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.

[[Page 15768]]

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 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.

                          ____________________