Cappodano, Vincent R.
Vincent Robert Capodanno was born in Richmond County, New York, on 13 February 1929. He was educated at Fordham University and Maryknoll Seminaries in Illinois, Massachusetts and New York. Ordained a Catholic Priest in June 1957, he served as a missionary in Taiwan and Hong Kong in 1958-65. In December 1965, Father Capodanno received his commission as a Lieutenant in the Navy Chaplain Corps. He was assigned to the First Marine Division in Vietnam in April 1966. While serving as Chaplain with the Third Battalion, Fifth Marines, during combat with enemy forces in Quang Tin Province on 4 September 1967, he lost his life as he provided assistance and comfort to Marine casualties. For his heroism on this occasion, Lieutenant Vincent R. Capodanno was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
USS Capodanno (DE-1093, later FF-1093) was named in honor of Lieutenant Capodanno.
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