From the Editor Emeritus / John F. Fink

Remembering sacrifices Catholics have made for our country

Last week’s column about The Fighting Sullivans, plus the approach of Memorial Day on Monday, reminded me of the sacrifices that Catholic American men and women have made in defense of our country. Catholic participation in America’s wars has consistently been greater than its percentage of the population.

Even in the Revolutionary War, when Catholics were only 1.6 percent of the population—and during a time when Catholics did not enjoy all the rights of citizenship in many of the colonies—they still composed 5 percent of the Continental Army.

In a letter to Archbishop John Carroll, the first U.S. bishop, President George Washington wrote, “I presume that your fellow citizens will not forget the patriotic part which you took in the accomplishment of their Revolution, and the establishment of your Government.”

By the Civil War, there were 2.2 million Catholics in a population of 31.4 million. Most of them, about 1.6 million, were refugees from the Irish potato famine. They lived in the North, but it was questionable that they would fight for the North. They had menial jobs native-born Americans didn’t want, but it was feared that, if the slaves were freed, they would compete for those jobs.

The fears were groundless. A total of 144,221 Irish fought for the Union. Michael Corcoran and Thomas Francis Meagher commanded the all-Irish 69th Brigade of the New York Infantry, which fought in every major battle of the Eastern Theater. By the end of the war, the Irish Brigade suffered 4,000 casualties, the highest of any Union brigade. About 40,000 German Catholics and 5,000 Polish immigrants also fought for the Union.

More than 50 Union generals were Catholics. The most prominent were Philip Sheridan, William Rosecrans, and Hugh and Charles Ewing. But the South also had Catholic generals, including Pierre Beauregard and James Longstreet.

Nuns played an important part in the Civil War. About 500 sisters, representing at least 20 religious orders from the North and South, nursed wounded and sick soldiers.

By the time of World War II, American Catholics numbered 21 million out of a total population of 132 million. It’s estimated that between 25 and 35 percent of the armed forces were Catholics. There were also 3,036 Catholic chaplains. Of the 11,887 conscientious objectors to the war, 135 were Catholic.

It was after World War II, when Catholics took advantage of the G.I. Bill to get college educations, that they were able to enter the middle class and become more integrated into American society. Nevertheless, they have continued to serve in the Armed Forces in great numbers.

For example, the Korean War saw the heroism, among other Catholics, of Father Emil Kapaun. He was an Army chaplain who died on May 23, 1951, at age 35 in a Chinese POW camp. He was captured by the Chinese on Nov. 2, 1950, as he was giving the last rites to a dying soldier. During the next six months and 21 days, he did everything he could to minister to his fellow prisoners’ spiritual and physical needs.

On Memorial Day, let’s pray for all those who sacrificed their lives for our country. †