Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has signed a bill to establish a memorial for Korean War hero and Army chaplain Emil Kapaun.

Father Kapaun, a native of Pilsen, Kansas, is the most highly decorated chaplain in United States Army history. After serving as a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Wichita, he was deployed in World War II and the Korean War. He was captured in the Battle of Unsan while refusing to leave the wounded and ultimately died as a prisoner of war in North Korea. Father Kapaun’s remains were identified and returned to Wichita to be laid to rest in September, 2021.

The bipartisan bill directs the Capitol Preservation Committee to create a memorial that will be placed in the Statehouse in Topeka.

District 36 state senator Elaine Bowers of Concordia said in a press release,  “As a member of the Capitol Preservation Committee, I pledge to see this memorial through the final stage of approval and permanent, prominent placement in the Statehouse.”