Rev Fr Vincent Robert "The Grunt Padre" Capodanno Jr.

Born 13 Feb 1929 in Elm Park, Richmond County (Staten Island), New York, United States of America

Ancestors

Son of Vincenzo Capodanno Sr. and Rachel (Basile) Capodanno

Brother of Maria (Capodanno) Ciroli, Pauline (Capodanno) Costa, Eleanor S (Capodanno) Cattaneo, Dorothy (Capodanno) Minero, James Salvatore Capodanno, Gloria Ann (Capodanno) Holman, Phillip Capodanno and Albert Capodanno

Died 4 Sep 1967 at age 38 in Thăng Bình, Quảng Nam, Vietnam

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Profile last modified 10 Jan 2024 | Created 10 Nov 2015

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1 Biography
2 Medal of Honor Citation
- 2.1 Military
- 2.2 Sources

Biography

Vincent Capodanno Jr. is Notable.

Vincent Capodanno Jr. was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Vincent Capodanno Jr. was awarded the Purple Heart.

Rev Fr Vincent Capodanno Jr. was Killed in Action during Vietnam War.

Reverand Vincent R. Capodanno, was born Feb. 13, 1929 in Richmond County (Staten Island) New York, USA. His parents were Vincent Capodanno Sr. and Rachel Capodanno. He had about seven siblings, including his sister Marie Capodanno and brother James Capodanno.

He graduated from Curtis High School, Staten Island, and attended Fordham University for a year before entering the Maryknoll Missionary Seminary in Ossining, New York.

Father Vincent Capodanno was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest on June 14, 1958 and assigned to Formosa (also known as the Republic of Taiwan) on August 4th 1958. Father Capodanno's first assignment as a missionary was with aboriginal Taiwanese in the mountains of Taiwan where he served in a parish and later in a school.

After seven years, Father Capodanno returned to the United States for leave and then was assigned to a Maryknoll school in Hong Kong.

In December 1965, Father Capodanno received his commission as a lieutenant in the Navy Chaplain Corps. He was assigned to the First Marine Division in Vietnam in April 1966. He was killed in action in Vietnam September 4, 1967.

Medal of Honor Citation

Medal of Honor.

Father Vincent R. Capodanno was posthumously awarded the "Medal of Honor" January 7, 1969. His Medal of Honor citation read: “By his heroic conduct on the battlefield, and his inspiring example, Lt. Capodanno upheld the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life in the cause of freedom.”

On Nov. 17, 1973, the Navy commissioned the USS Capodanno (named after Chaplain Vincent F. Capodanno) — and two years later, its crew saved a shipwrecked family off the coast of Southern Italy.

In 2013, an Air Force veteran who served two tours in Vietnam raised the funds to erect a new monument. It reads: “Military Chaplain Vietnam “Medal of Honor, Purple Heart, Bronze Star.

According to an article in the New York Daily Times, referenced below, the “Grunt Padre,” as Capodanno became known among the young leathernecks, could yet become the first member of the U.S. military promoted to saint. His name resurfaced once again during the recent New York visit of Pope Francis, who has the wherewithal to fast-track Capodanno’s road to sainthood.

Parents: Vincent Robert Capodanno 1885–1939 Rachel Basile Capodanno 1889–1961

Siblings: Dorothy Capodanno Minero 1917–1989 James Salvatore Capodanno 1919–2014 Vincent Robert Capodanno 1929–1967 Vincent Robert Capodanno 1929–1967

Vincent R. Capodanno Jr. was born on Staten Island, New York, on February 13, 1929, the tenth and youngest child of an immigrant father from Gaeta, Italy, and an Italian-American mother. Capodanno graduated from Curtis High School on February 4, 1947, then took night classes at Fordham University for a year while working as an insurance clerk. In 1949, he entered the Maryknoll Missionary Seminary in Ossining, New York, which included extensive studies in Illinois and Massachusetts. He was ordained a Roman Catholic priest by Cardinal Francis Spellman on June 14, 1958.

Capodanno's first assignment as a missionary was in 1959 with the Hakka people in the mountains of Taiwan, where he served in a parish and later in a school. After six years, he returned to the United States for leave and then was assigned to a Maryknoll school in Hong Kong. Shortly after, he volunteered to serve as a military chaplain in South Vietnam as the American presence escalated

On December 28, 1965, Capodanno received his commission as a lieutenant in the Navy Chaplain Corps. He then requested to serve with the Fleet Marine Force (FMF) in South Vietnam. After some training to serve within the Marine Corps, he was assigned in April 1966 to the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division in South Vietnam. In December, he was transferred to the 1st Medical Battalion, 1st Marine Division, until his year's tour was completed. In June 1967 after a one-month leave, he returned to Vietnam for a voluntary six-month extension, and in July was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines. In August, he was assigned to H&S Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division, where he befriended Lieutenant Frederick W. Smith, the future founder of Federal Express. Even before Capodanno's death, he was widely known for his willingness to share the hardships of suffering Marines on the front lines – "Radiating Christ" to those around him, in the terminology of Father Raoul Plus, a World War One chaplain studied by Mary Knollers – or simply the "Grunt Padre", in the words of Capodanno's Marine companions.

On Labor Day, September 4, 1967, at 04:30, during Operation Swift in the Thang Binh District of the Que Son Valley, Company D of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines was attacked in its night defensive position by a large People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) unit of approximately 2,500 near the village of Dong Son. The outnumbered and disorganized company needed support, and Company B was sent to assist. By 09:14, 26 Marines were confirmed dead. At 09:25, the commander of 1st Battalion requested additional reinforcements, and Companies K and M from the 3rd Battalion were committed to the battle, still leaving the Marines greatly outnumbered by the PAVN.

When Capodanno heard that two platoons of M Company from his battalion were taking casualties and about to be overrun by the PAVN, the unarmed chaplain went among the wounded and dying Marines of 2nd Platoon, helping and comforting them and giving last rites. That afternoon, he was wounded in the hand, arms and legs. Refusing medical evacuation, in the early evening he went to help a seriously wounded Navy corpsman and two wounded Marines only yards (meters) from an enemy machine gun and was killed on 4 September 1967 at the age of 38; 14 Marines and two corpsmen from the battalion were also killed. His body was recovered and buried in his family's plot in St. Peter's Cemetery (Staten Island).

On December 27, 1968, Secretary of the Navy Paul Ignatius notified the Capodanno family that Lieutenant Capodanno would posthumously be awarded the Medal of Honor. The ceremony was held January 7, 1969.[9]

A Catholic priest and Maryknoll Missioner killed in action while serving as a Navy chaplain with a Marine Corps infantry unit during the Vietnam War. He was a posthumous recipient of America's highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for heroic actions above and beyond the call of duty. The Catholic Church has declared him a Servant of God, the first of the four stages toward possible sainthood.

Military

Viet Nam War US Navy Reserve Lieutenant Navy Chaplain Corps 1st Battalion, 7th Marines & 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division

Medal of Honor Bronze Star Medal w/ Combat "V" Purple Heart Medal Combat Action Ribbon Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross w/ silver star

"Vietnam War Medal of Honor Recipient. He was born last in a family of nine, his parents Italian Americans. He attended Curtis High School where he was an avid swimmer and sports enthusiast. He went on to Fordham University and Maryknoll Seminaries in Illinois, Massachusetts and New York. He was ordained a Catholic Priest in June 1957 by Cardinal Spellman, and served as a Maryknoll missionary in Taiwan and Hong Kong from 1958 to 1965. In December 1965, he received his commission as a Lieutenant in the Navy Chaplain Corps. While serving in this capacity with the Third Battalion, Fifth Marines, during combat with enemy forces in Quang Tri Province on September 4, 1967, he lost his life as he provided assistance and comfort to Marine casualties. His citation reads "For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as Chaplain of the 3rd Battalion, in connection with operations against enemy forces. In response to reports that the 2nd Platoon of M Company was in danger of being overrun by a massed enemy assaulting force, Lt. Capodanno left the relative safety of the company command post and ran through an open area raked with fire, directly to the beleaguered platoon. Disregarding the intense enemy small-arms, automatic-weapons, and mortar fire, he moved about the battlefield administering last rites to the dying and giving medical aid to the wounded. When an exploding mortar round inflicted painful multiple wounds to his arms and legs, and severed a portion of his right hand, he steadfastly refused all medical aid. Instead, he directed the corpsmen to help their wounded comrades and, with calm vigor, continued to move about the battlefield as he provided encouragement by voice and example to the valiant marines. Upon encountering a wounded corpsman in the direct line of fire of an enemy machine gunner positioned approximately 15 yards away, Lt. Capodanno rushed a daring attempt to aid and assist the mortally wounded corpsman. At that instant, only inches from his goal, he was struck down by a burst of machine gun fire. By his heroic conduct on the battlefield, and his inspiring example, Lt. Capodanno upheld the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life in the cause of freedom". For his heroism on this occasion, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by President Richard M. Nixon. His body was recovered and returned to his hometown and interred in the family plot in St. Peters Cemetery.

Memorial to Father Vincent Capodanno, along his namesake boulevard in Staten Island, New York

USS Capodanno Another memorial to Father Vincent Capodanno, Fort Wadsworth, New York USS Capodanno (FF-1093) was named in his honor. Capodanno was commissioned November 17, 1973, and became the first ship in the US fleet to receive a Papal Blessing when it was blessed by Pope John Paul II on September 4, 1981, the 14th anniversary of the chaplain's death. On July 30, 1993, the ship was decommissioned after 20 years of service and transferred to Turkey.

Sources

1930 United States Federal Census Census & Voter Lists Name Vincent Campodamo Father Vincent Capodanno Mother Rachel Capodanno Sibling Marie Capodanno Birth 1929 - New York Residence 1930 - Richmond, Richmond, New York - Age: 1. Source Information Ancestry.com. [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

1940 United States Federal Census Census & Voter Lists Name: Vincent Capodanno Age: 11 Estimated birth year: abt 1929 Gender: Male. Race: White Birthplace: New York Marital Status: Single Relation to Head of House: Brother Home in 1940: New York, Richmond, New York. Home in 1940: Street: La Salle Street, New York, Richmond, New York. Citation Year: 1940; Census Place: New York, Richmond, New York; Roll: T627_2765; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 43-298. Source Information Ancestry.com. [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current Birth, Marriage & Death Name Rev Vincent R. Capodanno Birth 13 02 1929 - Richmond County (Staten Island), New York, USA Death 4 09 1967 - Vietnam. Cemetery #1: Chapel of Our Lady of Good Help. Burial or Cremation Place: Champion, Brown County, Wisconsin, USA. Cemetery #2 Father Capodanno's body was recovered and interred in his family's plot in Saint Peters Cemetery, West New Brighton, Staten Island, New York. Find A Grave: Memorial #125197950

U.S., Vietnam War Military Casualties, 1956-1998 Birth, Marriage & Death Name Vincent Robert Capodanno Birth 13 Feb 1929 Death 4 Sep 1967 - Age: 38 Origin Honolulu, Hawaii Other Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam).

Father Capodanno- Complete Biography with slideshow. Source: Archdiocese for Military Services, USA

The official web site of the Cause for Canonization of Father Vincent R. Capodanno, US Navy Chaplain. Link: http://www.capodannoguild.org/closing-of-the-diocesan-phase/