--- title: "‘The Grunt Padre’ was a chaplain who gave his life for his Marines’ souls" description: "Father Vincent Capodanno comforted dying Marines even as the Viet Cong overran their position in the Que Son Valley." date: "2022-10-05" modified: "2023-09-29" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-heroes/the-grunt-padre-was-a-chaplain-who-gave-his-life-for-his-marines-souls/" categories: - "Heroes" - "History" - "Medal of Honor" - "Vietnam War" - "War History" tags: - "Medal of Honor" - "Vietnam War" --- # ‘The Grunt Padre’ was a chaplain who gave his life for his Marines’ souls ![grunt padre ship]() *The Grunt Padre and the USS Capodanno (FF-1093).* Father Vincent Capodanno earned his nickname “The Grunt Padre” because he would never seek comfort while his Marines were out in the bush putting their lives on the line. The Navy chaplain shared their work and their burdens, living as a grunt Marine. It earned him the respect of his flock, the love of Marines in Vietnam, and eventually the Medal of Honor. In 1967, Capodanno was deployed to Vietnam during Operation Swift in September 1967. The objective was to rescue two companies of [United States Marines]() who had been ambushed by North Vietnamese regulars in the Que Son Valley of Vietnam’s Quang Nam Province. Both sides recognized the region's strategic importance and fought bitterly over it. ![grunt padre chaplain]() *Photograph of Medal of Honor recipient Lieutenant Vincent R. "Grunt Padre" Capodanno, USNR. (U.S. Navy) Photograph of Medal of Honor recipient Lieutenant Vincent R. "Grunt Padre" Capodanno, USNR. (U.S. Navy photo)* By September 1967, the Marines had forced the North Vietnamese out of the valley to nurse their wounds and regroup, but it wasn’t long before they came back in full force. This time, they were reinforced by three regiments of Viet Cong guerrillas. Two companies of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, soon found themselves under heavy fire. Operation Swift was the effort to reinforce them and push the communists out of the valley for good. With the Marine reinforcements came Father Capodanno, who was returning to the war after a year in the country and one month’s leave. On Sept. 4, 1967, he entered the valley with his Marines. ![memorial for grunt padre]() *The Monument that stands just outside Father Capodanno Memorial Chapel, Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island, in memory of the Navy chaplain who grew up on the Island. The Monument that stands just outside Father Capodanno Memorial Chapel, Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island, NY in memory of the Navy Chaplain who grew up there on the Island. (Wikimedia Commons)* By 9:14 that morning, they had been fighting the communists for five hours, and 26 Marines were killed in action. Even though the Marines were outnumbered by the NVA, in danger of being overrun and he was an unarmed chaplain, he still went onto the battlefield and delivered comfort and Last Rites to the wounded and dying. In the afternoon of that same day, the heavy fighting was beginning to take its toll on the chaplain. He had been wounded in the hand, arms, and legs and was bleeding profusely. Still, he refused medical care or evacuation. That evening, he moved to assist a dying corpsman but didn’t see the enemy machine gun nest just yards away. When the communists opened fire, Father Capodanno was killed instantly. His body was recovered and buried in a family plot on Staten Island. The next year, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by President Lyndon B. Johnson for his sacrifice in tending to the wounded and dying that day. ![grunt padre chaplain plaque]() *The Father Capodanno Memorial in New York. (Public domain photo of Father Capodanno Memorial, New York)* But Father Capodanno’s story doesn’t end there. Since May of 2002, an effort to canonize Capodanno has been pushed through the highest levels of the Catholic Church. A petition effort led by a group called Mission Capodanno was received in the Vatican by 2004. In 2006, Capodanno was declared a Servant of God by [Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien]() of the Archdiocese for the Military Services in Washington, DC. The case for his beatification – the process of making him a saint of the Catholic Church – continues. A Florida woman who had been fighting multiple sclerosis read the story of the Grunt Padre and prayed for his intervention in 2017. Within two years all her brain lesions were gone. The Vatican sent Dr. Andrea Ambrosi to meet with the Bishop of Palm Beach, who found that all the facts in the case were true, and the miracle was attributed to Capodanno, a necessary step toward sainthood. ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()