Christ in Barbed Wire

Kathryn Swegart tells the unforgettable story of a crucifix carved in a POW camp during the Korean War.

On Saturday we celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, when we honor the cross on which Christ was crucified. It is a liturgical feast adopted by the Church in the 7th century. Today I will tell you the story of a crucifix not designed in an artist’s workshop. It was created by a Jewish Marine pilot in a Chinese POW camp during the Korean War. 

Christ in Barbed Wire was the work of Captain Gerry Fink, a marine reservist and World War II combat pilot who volunteered to serve in the Korean War. One day in August 1951, he flew his fighter jet low over an enemy convoy and was shot down. With quick action he was able to parachute into enemy territory, only to be captured by the North Koreans. With hands bound, he was dragged from village to village to Pak’s Palace, a notorious interrogation camp. After several months he and other officers marched 225 miles to a Chinese prison camp along the Yalu River. 

To his immense surprise, Fink discovered a totally different environment than he had experienced at Pak’s Palace. Prisoners looked out for each other, cared for each other and prayed together. The new arrival was confused. Why is this camp different? He asked the same question over and over. Each time the answer was the same, “Father Kapaun …Father Kapaun.” Why were they still talking about this Kansas farm boy who became a Catholic priest? 

Marine warrant officer Felix McCool and a devout Catholic, had the answer.  He described Father Emil Kapaun.

He was a man of God. He would hold evening prayers, wash the clothes of the sick and hear confession. Doing all this while he was slowly eaten by disease, caused by lack of proper food, sanitation and clothing. (quoted in No Bullet Got Me Yet: The Relentless Faith of Father Kapaun by John Stansifer) 

Father Kapaun died of pneumonia and starvation in a Communist death house on May 23, 1950. Just before he died, the heroic priest asked other prisoners to continue to say prayers and pray the Rosary. They promised they would.  

Intrigued and inspired by the story, Captain Fink decided to use his skills as an amateur wood carver to honor Father Kapaun. Fink got to work carving a crucifix. The first step was to scrounge around for a large piece of wood. Amidst the rubble of a nearby building he discovered a four-foot hunk of scrub oak for the corpus. The cross was fashioned of cherrywood. He created carving knives from metal arch supports in decrepit boots, and gutter pipes were transformed into chisels. Drills were made from barbed wire. For two months Fink carved in secret. Pieces of radio wire became the crown of thorns. 

One day a guard saw him working on the 22-inch corpus. 

“Who is that?” the guard asked suspiciously. 

“Abraham Lincoln,” Fink replied. The guard shrugged and walked away. 

He needed one more tool to create the finishing touches. When the guards were not looking, he broke a window and used pieces of glass for sanding and smoothing. Finally, it was finished. Felix McCool stared at the crucifix and saw the suffering face of Jesus. He also saw the face of his beloved priest Father Kapaun, a man who rescued 30 wounded men on the battlefield. Fearlessly, Kapaun would race toward enemy fire to administer Last Rites or carry men back to safety. To the men suffering in the Chinese prison camp, the courageous priest became another Christ. 

As the Korean War dwindled to a close, the men named the crucifix Christ in Barbed Wire and hung it from the ceiling of their cell. On July 27, 1953, the war came to an end. Operation Big Switch oversaw the exchange of prisoners. Upon their release, McCool and two other prisoners were able to smuggle the crucifix past guards. 

Christ in Barbed Wire now hangs in an exhibit case at Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School in Wichita, Kansas, inspiring the next generation. 

Servant of God Emil Kapaun was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for valor in war. For 70 years, his body was missing in action. Through a miraculous chain of events, his body was identified. In 2021, Father Kapaun was given a hero’s welcome by the people of Kansas. Thousands attended the emotional funeral Mass attended by some of the Korean War veterans who still spoke with awe of this unforgettable priest. 

 His cause for canonization is moving forward. 

To learn more about Father Kapaun, visit his official website: FrKapaun.org.

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Copyright 2024 Kathryn Swegart
Images: Christ in Barbed Wire images used with the kind permission of the Diocese of Wichita, all rights reserved; portrait of Father Kapaun, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons