Fighting Spirit: A Combat Chaplain's Journey

Kathryn Swegart recommends this inspiring documentary film on military chaplains, including Servant of God Emil Kapaun, who provided spiritual refuge to soldiers in combat.

Army Chaplain Justin D. Roberts crouched behind a dirt wall, embedded with the “No Slack” 101st battalion deployed to Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom in 2009. He was deployed with the “Strong Eagle” operations, fighting in one of the most gruesome operations of the entire war. Suicide bombs exploded around him, sending showers of rocks down on him. He ducked his head but did not clutch a rifle. He gripped cameras, ready to catch the experience of soldiers at war.

Fighting Spirit: A Combat Chaplain’s Journey is an unforgettable war film told by an award-winning documentary film maker. Justin Roberts recounts his own struggles with PTSD. It also tells the fascinating history of military chaplains, filled with courageous heroes of all faiths. Among those heroes was a heroic priest named Father Emil Kapaun.

One day, Roberts read the story of Father Emil Kapaun, an Army chaplain who died in 1950 at a Chinese POW camp during the Korean War. It was believed that his body was dumped in a mass grave, forever to be buried as an unknown soldier. When the war ended, remains of fallen soldiers were brought to a cemetery in Hawaii. Through a series of miraculous events, Father Kapaun’s remains were identified. In 2021 his body was given a hero’s welcome back to his home state of Kansas.

Roberts read the story and felt drawn to attend the funeral in hopes that he would receive healing of his PTSD. With the blessing of his wife, the retired chaplain drove 700 miles from Lake Charles, Louisiana to Wichita, Kansas. He records moving footage of the funeral and the thousands of mourners who solemnly paid their last respects. Throughout the film, Roberts weaves his trip to Wichita through the history of the military chaplains who have served our country.

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Trained in the communication arts, Justin Roberts employed creative cinematic techniques to portray historic events that cover the Civil War, Vietnam War, and World War II.

It is a compelling plot twist for a Protestant chaplain to be drawn by the sanctity of a Catholic priest. I know the feeling. I had the privilege of praying at Father Kapaun’s tomb at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Wichita. I, too, sensed the sanctity of this fallen hero. I had a special intention for the healing of a family member and believe that prayer was answered.

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Roberts interviews Korean War veterans who still speak with heart-rending emotion about the holiness of Father Kapaun. He gave his life for these men. Herbert Miller tells how he was wounded and lying in a ditch. A Chinese soldier aimed his rifle at him, ready to pull the trigger. The heroic priest pushed the rifle aside and picked up Miller. Kapaun helped carry him on a tortuous death march to a prison camp.

Another veteran, Bob Wood, recalled how Father Kapaun's sanctity “could turn a mud hut into a cathedral … I think of him every day.”

Attendance at Father Kapaun’s funeral brought a measure of healing to Justin Roberts. It was a celebration that gave him hope and joy. “I felt a clarity of purpose and new life. It was time to move on.”

Given that the Church requires a reputation of sanctity, Father Emil Kapaun is on the road to sainthood. He is currently a Servant of God.

Fighting Spirit was produced by Paulist Productions and is scheduled for release in theaters on November 8, 2024, just in time for Veteran’s Day. I highly recommend this film. I have one cautionary note. Some scenes of war would be too difficult for children to view.

Fighting Spirit is rated PG-13. To learn more or purchase tickets for its November 8 release, visit FightingSpiritFilm.com.

Fighting Spirit poster