4 U.S. Military veterans on the path to sainthood

While Veterans Day is a day to honor living veterans of the U.S. military, those who have died — either during the war or after their service ended — are remembered as well.

It is observed every year on November 11 in the United States. In the Commonwealth, "Remembrance Day," honoring soldiers who died in the line of duty, is observed on the same day.

Catholics believe that the saints are alive in heaven and able to intercede for us here on earth. So in honor of Veterans Day, here are four veterans of the U.S. military who have open causes for canonization.

Fr. Vincent Robert Capodanno was born on Staten Island, New York on February 13, 1929, and was ordained a priest on June 14, 1958. He was a member of the Maryknoll order.

On December 28, 1965, Capodanno was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Navy Chaplain Corps. He asked to serve with the Fleet Marine Force in South Vietnam, and was eventually assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division in South Vietnam.

Capodanno served various assignments with the Marines in Vietnam until his death on September 4, 1967. During Operation Swift, Capodanno and his unit were surrounded by 2,500 North Vietnamese soldiers. Despite this, Capodanno continued on with his chaplaincy work, tending to the wounded and dying, giving last rites to Marines, and even gave up his own gas mask to another person.

Capodanno was shot 27 times and killed. He was just 38 years old. Capodanno was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on January 7, 1969. His cause for canonization was opened on May 19, 2002, and he was designated "Servant of God" on May 21, 2006.

Unlike the other three people featured in this piece, Joseph Dutton was not a priest. A layman born with the name Ira Barnes Dutton, he served in the Civil War in the 13th Wisconsin Regiment in the Union Army and was discharged with the rank of first lieutenant.

Following an unsuccessful marriage and a battle with alcoholism, Dutton was baptized on his 40th birthday, April 27, 1883. He took the name Joseph as a sign of his "new life" in Christ.

Dutton spent time at the Our Lady of Gethsemane Monastery in Kentucky. Spurred by a desire to do a more physical act of penance, Dutton, with the abbot's blessing, left the monastery to join the then-Fr. Damien in Molokai, Hawaii.

Upon arrival at the leper colony on Molokai, Dutton reportedly told Fr. Damien "My name is Joseph Dutton; I have come to help, and I have come to stay." True to his word, he did just that. Dutton spent the rest of his life in Hawaii, and died of leprosy in Honolulu on March 26, 1931. 

Dutton's cause for canonization was opened in 2022 and was sent to the Vatican in 2024.

Another veteran of the Civil War, Fr. Nelson Baker served with the 74th New York regiment in the Union Army for a short period of time after enlisting. After he returned home to Buffalo, New York, he and a friend began a successful business, before Baker began feeling the call to the priesthood.

He then entered the seminary, and was about a decade older than most of his classmates. Baker was ordained a priest on March 19, 1876, when he was 34 years old. Shortly after ordination, he was assigned to St. Joseph's Orphanage, which was in bad financial shape at the time.

Baker began a successful fundraising campaign for the orphanage and eventually created a large network of charitable organizations for the city of Buffalo. He became known as the "Padre of the Poor."

Baker died on July 29, 1936, at the age of 93. He was declared venerable on January 14, 2011.

Fr. Emil Kapaun was born in Kansas, and he was ordained a priest on June 9, 1940. During World War II, he joined the U.S. Army Chaplains Corps, and was stationed in Burma from April 1945 to May 1946. He was promoted to the rank of captain in January 1946.

In 1948, after receiving a Master's Degree, Kapaun re-enlisted in the chaplain corps and was initially stationed in Texas. Early in 1950, he was sent to Japan, and later, Korea.

On All Souls' Day 1950, Kapaun was captured by Chinese forces while attempting to rescue an American soldier during the Battle of Unsan. Kapaun's actions during the Battle of Unsan were cited when he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

He and his fellow prisoners of war were sent on a 70-mile "death march" to the prison camp. While in the camp, Kapaun would attempt to boost the morale of other prisoners and would celebrate Mass in defiance of the guards. He died of malnutrition and pneumonia on May 23, 1951.

Kapaun's remains were identified in 2021, eight years after he received the Medal of Honor. His return to his hometown in Kansas and his funeral is shown in the film "Fighting Spirit: A Combat Chaplain's Journey." He was declared "venerable" in 2025.