Herington post office named after Fr. Kapaun

The U.S. Post Office in Herington, Kansas, was renamed in honor of Captain Emil J. Kapaun in a ceremony Tuesday afternoon, May 30, in front of the post office.

Herington is about 30 miles south of Junction City.

Fr. Emil J. Kapaun died in 1951 in a North Korean prisoner of war camp, 12 years before Zip Code 67449 was established. But his name will forever be attached to that number.

Fr. Kapaun’s nephew, Ray Kapaun, unveiled the plaque honoring the priest of the Diocese of Wichita whose cause for sainthood is under consideration by the Vatican. Several dignitaries and representatives of the Diocese of Wichita attended.

The unveiling was held after a Mass was celebrated in Fr. Kapaun’s honor in St. John the Evangelist Church in Herington.

Fr. Kapaun celebrated Mass at the Herington Air Base during World War II while a chaplain in the U.S. Army.

The sign states: “This building is named in honor of Captain Emil J. Kapaun by an Act of Congress, public law, 117–91, March 10, 2022.”

The law, available at Congress.Gov, states:

“An Act to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 17 East Main Street in Herington, Kansas, as the ‘‘Captain Emil J. Kapaun Post Office Building.’’
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. CAPTAIN EMIL J. KAPAUN POST OFFICE BUILDING.
(a) DESIGNATION.—The facility of the United States Postal Service located at 17 East Main Street in Herington, Kansas, shall be known and designated as the ‘‘Captain Emil J. Kapaun Post Office Building’’.
(b) REFERENCES.—Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United States to the facility referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be a reference to the ‘‘Captain Emil J. Kapaun Post Office Building’’.
Approved March 10, 2022.

A reception was held after the dedication at VFW Post 1281 in Herington.

For details about Fr. Kapaun’s life visit FrKapaun.org.