The Knights of Columbus---On Veteran’s Day all Knights Proudly Count Among their Brothers these Medal of Honor Recipients

IT MAKES SENSE TO ME

By Larry Peterson

The Knights of Columbus officially became a fraternal Catholic society on March 29, 1882. Founded by Father Michael McGivney and some of the parishioners at St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, Connecticut, the organization was started for the purpose of providing aid, both spiritual and corporal, to members and their families. Most of them at the time were poor immigrants.

Today the Knights of Columbus has grown from a few members, who had their first meeting in the basement of St. Mary’s, to an organization that is the largest Catholic fraternal order in the world with 15,342 councils and almost 2 million members spread around the planet.

The four tenets of the Knights of Columbus are Charity, Unity, Fraternity, and Patriotism. Since it is Veteran’s Day in America, this article will focus on Patriotism. Members of the Knights call each other “Brother”. We are all Brother Knights (myself included) and the following Brother Knights exemplified their Patriotism above and beyond the call of duty. They were all recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Congressional Medal(s) of Honor

Marine Sergeant; Daniel Joseph Daly:  1873-1937 Awarded the Medal of Honor TWICE;  In 1900 he received his first Medal of Honor during the Boxer rebellion. He single-handedly repelled repeated attacks on his position while inflicting close to two hundred casualties on the enemy. His second Medal of Honor came during the Battle of Fort Dipite in Haiti as he led 35 of his men against a force of 400 rebels managing to get his men and himself to a nearby fort. Sergeant Daly was a member of  Knights of Columbus Council #472 in Middle Village (Queens), N.Y.

 Sgt. Daniel Joseph Daly*

Major Charles Watters*

Father (Major) Charles J. Watters: 1927-1967  On November 19, 1967, during a battle near Dak To in Viet Nam, Chaplain Watters, unarmed and without regard to his own life, tended to the wounded and dying while in close combat with the enemy. He persevered in his mission until he lost his own life in the battle. Major Watters was a member of Knights of 

Columbus Council #1638 in Rutherford, N.J. 

Major General Patrick Brady*

Major General Patrick Brady: 1936—age 81   General Brady did two tours of duty in Viet Nam. The first was from 1964 thru 1965 when he piloted a Medical Helicopter Ambulance. During his second tour, from 1967 to 1968, Brady was second in command of the 54^th Medical detachment. It was during this time that he was awarded the Medal of Honor. Into thick fog and heavy enemy gunfire, Major Brady flew four separate times into the area to rescue seriously wounded men.  He wound up using three different helicopters during the course of the day and rescued fifty-one wounded men many who would have died without medical attention.  He retired as a Major General in 1993...The General is a member of Knights of Columbus Council #11948 in Tacoma, Washington.

Captain Gary Michael Rose*

Captain Gary Michel Rose: 1947—age 70   Captain Rose (at the time Sergeant Rose) was a member of the 5^th Special Forces Group (Airborne). On September 11, 1970, Sergeant Rose and a company of soldiers were sent behind enemy lines in Laos. The men moved deeper into enemy territory and came under intense fire. Sergeant Rose, crawled from man to man treating the wounded and dying without regard for his own safety. Hit by shrapnel in his back legs and feet he continued on using a stick as a crutch while treating the wounded. Captain Gary Rose is a member of Knights of Columbus Council # 11672, Huntsville, Alabama.

Captain Emil Kapaun: 1916-1951 Emil Joseph Kapaun, was a Catholic priest who served as a chaplain in World War II and in Korea.  He was declared a Servant of God by Pope St. John Paul II in 1993.   He was awarded the Medal of Honor for action in Korea in 1950. 

During the Battle of Unsan in 1950, Chinese troops entered the war and overwhelmed the 3^rd Battalion, 8^th Cavalry. The prisoners (including Father Kapaun), were marched 87 miles to a makeshift prison camp. He was the unifier and morale keeper at the camp. He would dig latrines, give away his meager rations, and talk to and counsel the prisoners doing his best to keep their spirits intact. He was also the one who insisted on ‘stealing’ tea and other scraps of food so the others would not get caught and executed.  He even smuggled medicines to the doctor among them, Sidney Esensten.

Father Kapaun offering Mass in Korea, 1950

Captain Chaplain Emil Kapaun was a member of Knights of Columbus Council,#3423 in Pilsen, Kansas.  In addition, Knights of Columbus Council # 14218 in Fort Riley, Kansas is named in his honor. Emil Kapaun;  Knights of Columbus Assembly 2711 in Katy, Texas is also named after him as is Fourth Degree Assembly 3260 in Vail, Arizona.

 Father Michael McGivney--Founder of the Knights of Columbus

Father McGivney died at the age of 38 when the K of C was only eight-years-old. In 1996 he was declared a Servant of God and his cause for sainthood was sent to Rome. In March of 2008, Pope Benedict XVI, declared Father McGivney, “Venerable”, in recognition of his “heroic virtue”. The next step in the process will be Beatification

To Brother Knight, Venerable Michael McGivney, please pray for us all.

To Brother Knight, Servant of God, Emil Kapaun,  please pray for us also.

*All photos from Wikipedia commons.org

                                       Copyright©Larry Peterson 2017

There is a Crisis of “Fatherless” Children in America; We Should Turn to St. Joseph for Help

IT MAKES SENSE TO ME 

By Larry Peterson

September 8 was the birthday of our heavenly mom, Mary. On her birthday I also always think of Mother Mary’s husband, St. Joseph.  Without him there would be no birthdays to celebrate, either on September 8 or December 25. When God chose Joseph of Nazareth to be the foster-father of His only Son, He certainly knew what He was doing.

I call St. Joseph the “Shadow Saint”. That is because so little is known about him. He never spoke a word that was recorded. He never wrote anything that was saved on parchment.  It does not matter. This young man, a “righteous Jew” true to the law, was confronted with being engaged to a woman pregnant with someone else’s child. The reality was a terrible thing for him to bear.

But Joseph, who was only about 19, was a man of faith and God was with him. The penalty for his betrothed could have been death by stoning. Joseph would have none of that. His Mary would not be harmed. He loved her. So he took her in and married her. The child she carried would be his.

St. Joseph’s example of selflessness is something that needs to be talked about with admiration, respect and pride. It might be used as a guide for so many who have, in this secular driven world, fathered children and then abandoned them. 

There is a crisis of “fatherless” children in America. Next to the disrespect and disregard for unborn life, this could be the most dangerous threat to our society. “Fatherlessness” is an ongoing tragedy that can find its roots planted when Roe vs. Wade was passed in 1973. When the destruction of human life was “legalized” the downward spiral of respect for life followed.


There is a "father factor"  involved in virtually all aspects of American life today. Yes, many homes still have fathers but many children live in homes with absentee fathers and the societal effects are felt all across the spectrum of American life.

Statistics show that in fatherless homes poverty is 4X  higher than average, teen pregnancy increases by a multiple of seven (7), abuse and neglect are much more widespread and drug use is more 

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prevalent. The list goes on and on.

St. Joseph could be used as a shining example for all men to emulate. He was poor, he was chaste and he respected women, especially his teenaged bride.  He was a man of faith and stayed true to the laws of God and man. Foremost in his life was his faith in God. This was his strength. This is what fortified him. This is what is missing in so many lives today.

Joseph of Nazareth is an example of how one should respect the law. We could explain to young people how he had to put his teenaged and pregnant wife on the back of a donkey and then walk over rocky, dusty roads for over 80 miles, a journey that probably took three days. And why did he do this? He did this because he was required to go to Bethlehem for the census. It was the law.

The story of young Joseph, taking his teenaged wife and baby boy, and escaping Bethlehem because King Herod wanted to kill his son, Jesus, would make any young person’s pulse amp up. The poor guy’s child was being hunted by Herod’s soldiers. His wife was recovering from child birth. He had to make it to Egypt. And he did…for his family. This is what a REAL man would do, or at least try to.

Joseph did whatever he had to do to take care of his wife and son. He worked hard to keep a roof over their heads, to feed them, clothe them, and protect them. He did not care about himself. His family came first, no matter what. He would have gladly died for them if necessary. He was a real MAN. His sacrifice and efforts for his wife and son allowed them to survive so that the salvific narrative would be fulfilled. We owe him so much.

His faith, courage, integrity and love of God resonate like the smashing of cymbals and the banging of drums for all of us to listen to. We need to follow his example. We need to celebrate his life. We need to honor his commitment to his responsibilities. We should cherish his devotion to family.

I realize the possibility of teaching about this quiet hero in public schools might be a ‘pipe dream’ but  I would hope Catholic schools would use him as an example for students to look up to and respect as a role model for what a husband and dad should try to be like.

St. Joseph, two thousand years after his death, is still the finest role model for, not only husbands and fathers, but for all men for all time.

                                     ©Larry Peterson 2016 All Rights Reserved