Originally published at National Catholic Register
As Veterans Day approaches, do many people think about the veterans who were military chaplains or about the role they play in combat situations? If not, the film Fighting Spirit: A Combat Chaplain’s Journey, opening in select cities on Nov. 8, puts the spotlight on them, especially Father Emil Kapaun and Protestant chaplain Justin Roberts.
Father Kapaun’s heroic story becomes the exemplar, the model bookends for the story of chaplains attending all the armed services.
At the beginning, two images come into focus: the return of Father Kapaun’s remains to the United States in 2021 (he died in a POW camp in 1951) and the personal story of another chaplain.
“My name is Justin Roberts, and I was a chaplain with the 101st Airborne in Afghanistan,” says this onscreen narrator, introducing himself. Since chaplains do not carry a firearm, Roberts had permission to carry a camera with the stipulation, “Just don’t get shot.” That sets the scene for the selfless bravery chaplains have displayed throughout American history, with 419 chaplains giving their lives on the battlefield.
A combination of a docudrama and documentary, the film is framed by the personal story of Chaplain Roberts. He becomes
