Watch ‘Fighting Spirit’: Be Inspired by Courage, and Faith, Under Fire
- National Catholic Register
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Film that highlights the heroic role of chaplains is available to rent this week.
By Joseph Pronechen/National Catholic Register
Looking for an uplifting watch this long weekend?
Consider Fighting Spirit: A Combat Chaplain’s Journey, available to rent or buy starting on May 23.
Fighting Spirit shines the spotlight on chaplains and their role in combat situations, especially now-Venerable Father Emil Kapaun and Protestant chaplain Justin Roberts.
A combination of a docudrama and documentary, the film is framed by the personal story of Chaplain Roberts, who recalls not only his own experiences but the heroic deeds of other chaplains, especially those of Father Kapaun and Father Joseph O’Callahan.
For reasons Roberts explains related to his own post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), once he learns the story of Father Kapaun, he decides with the consent of his wife to drive more than 700 miles from his home in Louisiana to welcome back the remains of this heroic chaplain — named a “Servant of God” by John Paul Il, officially admitting his cause for sainthood by the Catholic Church and declared “Venerable” by Pope Francis — and attend the Medal of Honor-recipient priest’s funeral in Wichita, Kansas.
The journey offers Roberts time to reflect upon and to share with viewers the role of chaplains in the military — most importantly, the immense comfort, support, counsel and aid they provide for the military servicemen and women and their families.
“Chaplains are out there risking their lives, too, to give comfort and aid,” one chaplain says.
Along the miles to Wichita, Chaplain Roberts shares, “During my service, the legacies of the chaplains who came before me were my North Star, my guiding light.”
Among the heroic stories he highlights are the four chaplains of the Dorchester — one Catholic priest, two Protestants and a Jewish rabbi. Linking arms, they died together in World War II while comforting and saving servicemen aboard their ship when it was torpedoed in February 1943.
What makes this part exceptionally moving: the recollections of some seamen who were among the 902 men on that ship who were saved. Still living, they share how they saw these chaplains in action.
“They were moving about the soldiers and calming them, praying for them, telling them which way to go,” one said. “They were encouraging everyone to leave the ship,” another added. A third recalled, “We start praying. I knew that I had to get off. I knew that none of them [the chaplains] were going to go. I admit, I cried. I prayed.”
Helping Souls
Stirring testimonies like these amplify the theme and add a great deal of the human element to the way chaplains help souls.
Similarly, the films offers the insightful story, with much film footage of the actual events as they took place, of Chaplain O’Callahan, a Catholic priest who offered Mass before a battle to remind soldiers where their strength came from. Aboard the aircraft carrier Franklin with its crew of 3,300, when hundreds were killed or wounded by bombs and devastating fires, Father O’Callahan was seen everywhere, giving last rites, praying with and helping the wounded, and giving commands in many ways to prevent further explosions, in order to save lives and prevent the ship from sinking as he “led rescue parties to the bowels of the ship” and “passed hot ammunition to throw overboard so it didn’t explode.” This chaplain also received the Medal of Honor.
Again, Fighting Spirit: A Combat Chaplain's Journey shines and engrosses in setting the scene with solid sections of actual footage and photographs, recalling highlights about Father Kapaun and bringing out the human side, with memories shared on camera by three survivors helped by Father Kapaun in the prisoner-of-war camp where the chaplain died: Mike Dowe, Herbert Miller and Bob Wood.
Miller remembered, “Father could turn a mud hut into a cathedral by walking into it. He said, ‘Well, don’t worry. Keep up your spirit. They’re going to get us out of here.’”
Viewers will be moved as Roberts arrives for the procession carrying Father Kapaun’s remains to his hometown of Pilsen, Kansas, and then attends the overflowing funeral Mass in Wichita.
“Hopefully, Father Kapaun becomes a saint,” reflects a renewed Roberts in the film.
Overall, Fighting Spirit becomes a journey of healing for one former chaplain, a moving boost for the cause of Chaplain Kapaun, and a triumphant ode to military chaplains whose presence with troops can bring them strength, courage and healing.
WATCH
