The Four Chaplains
	George L. Fox, Alexander D. Goode
	Clark V. Poling, John P. Washington

The Four Chaplains were four United States Army chaplains who gave their lives to save other soldiers during the sinking of the troop ship USAT Dorchester during World War II. They helped other soldiers board lifeboats and gave up their own life jackets when the supply ran out. The chaplains joined arms, said prayers, and sang hymns as they went down with the ship.

[edit] Sinking of the Dorchester

The chaplains, who all held the rank of lieutenant, were the Methodist Reverend George L. Fox, Rabbi Alexander D. Goode, the Roman Catholic Priest John P. Washington and the Reformed Church in America Reverend Clark V. Poling. They were sailing on the USAT Dorchester, a coastal liner that had been converted to a troop transport for World War II. On the night of February 3, 1943, the vessel, travelling in convoy, was torpedoed by the German submarine U-223 off Newfoundland in the North Atlantic.^[1]

The torpedo knocked out the Dorchester's electrical system, leaving the ship dark. Panic set in among the men on board, many of them trapped below decks. The chaplains sought to calm the men and organize an orderly evacuation of the ship, and helped guide wounded men to safety. As life jackets were passed out to the men, the supply ran out before each man had one. The chaplains removed their own life jackets and gave them to others. They helped as many men as they could into lifeboats, and then linked arms and, saying prayers and singing hymns, went down with the ship.^[2]

As I swam away from the ship, I looked back. The flares had lighted everything. The bow came up high and she slid under. The last thing I saw, the Four Chaplains were up there praying for the safety of the men. They had done everything they could. I did not see them again. They themselves did not have a chance without their life jackets.

—Grady Clark, survivor^[3]

In all, 230 of the 904 men aboard the ship were rescued. Life jackets offered little protection from hypothermia which killed most men in the water. Water temperature was 34 °F (1 °C) and air temperature was 36 °F (2 °C). By the time additional rescue ships arrived "...hundreds of dead bodies were seen floating on the water, kept up by their life jackets."^[4]

On December 19, 1944, all four chaplains were posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Distinguished Service Cross.^[5]. The Four Chaplains' Medal was established by act of Congress on July 14, 1960, and was presented posthumously to their next of kin by Secretary of the Army Wilber M. Brucker at Ft. Myer, Virginia on January 18, 1961 ^[6].

Four Chaplains

The chaplains were also honored with a stamp, issued in 1948 and by an act of Congress designating February 3 as "Four Chaplains Day."

Goode, Poling and Washington had served as leaders in the Boy Scouts of America.^[7]

[edit] Memorials

• Chapel of the Four Chaplains - A chapel in their honor was dedicated on February 3, 1951, by President Harry S. Truman to honor these soldiers of different faiths in the basement of Grace Baptist church in Philadelphia. In 1974, that congregation moved to Blue Bell selling the building to Temple University. Today Temple University is renovating that building and the Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation (the only 501(c)(3) charity related to the Four Chaplains' legacy) is based at former U.S. Naval Chapel located in the former South Philadelphia Navy Yard.^[8] In addition to supporting work that exemplifies the idea of Interfaith in Action, recalling the story of the Four Chaplains, the Chapel presents awards to individuals whose work reflects interfaith goals. 1984 was the first time that the award went to a rabbi, priest, minister military chaplain team, recalling in a special way the four chaplains themselves, when the Rabbi Louis Parris Hall of Heroes Gold Medallion was presented to Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff; Catholic Priest, Fr. George Pucciarelli; and Protestant Minister, Danny Wheeler -- the three chaplains present at the scene of the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing. The story of these three United States Navy Chaplains was itself memorialized in a Presidential speech (video version)(text version) by President Ronald Reagan, on April 12, 1984.

Four Chaplains

• Immortal Chaplains Memorial Sanctuary - On the Queen Mary - Long Beach, California - Operated by The Immortal Chaplains Foundation - www.ImmortalChaplains.org - founded by the chaplains' families and survivors of the Dorchester tragedy...including 3 survivors of U-boat 223, which sank the Dorchester on February 3, 1943. (The Queen Mary transported these men to the USA as POWs one year after the sinking of the Dorchester.)^{[citation needed]}
• National Cathedral, Washington, D.C, - Heroes Chapel Window - stained glass depiction of the Four Chaplains^{[citation needed]}
• Civitan International, a worldwide volunteer association of service clubs, holds an interfaith Clergy Appreciation Week every year. The event honors the sacrifice of the Four Chaplains by encouraging citizens to thank the clergy that serve their communities.^[9]

Memorial, Ann Arbor, Michigan

• A memorial created by sculptor Carlton W. Angell was dedicated to the Four Chaplains in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1954.^{[citation needed]}
• The chapel at the Pittsburgh International Airport was dedicated to the four chaplains in 1994.^{[citation needed]}
• The Four Chaplains Memorial Viaduct, spanning the Tuscarawas River in Massillon, Ohio, was built in 1949 and refurbished in 1993. It is part of the old Lincoln Highway. A memorial plaque can be found on the eastern end.^{[citation needed]}
• There is a memorial plaque at Belmont Park Racecourse in Elmont, New York. It is located behind the clubhouse section of the grandstand. It is bolted onto a rock on the walkway leading to the racing secretary's office.^{[citation needed]}
• There is a "Field of the Four Chaplains" at Fort Benning, Georgia.^{[citation needed]}
• Fort Lewis in Washington has a Four Chaplains' Memorial Chapel & Family Life Center.^[10]
• There is a plaque in the Rhode Island State House that commemorates the Four Chaplains and a Rhode Island native, Walter McHugh, a Coast Guard member who also lost his life on the Dorchester.^{[citation needed]}
• The chapel at Camp Tuckahoe in York County, Pennsylvania, is dedicated to the Four Chaplains.^{[citation needed]}
• A musical composition entitled "The Light Eternal," written by James Swearingen in 1992, tells the story of the Four Chaplains through music.^{[citation needed]}
• The 23rd Degree of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (Northern Jurisdiction) is based on the Four Chaplains incident, teaching "that faith in God will find expression in love for our fellow man, even to the ultimate personal sacrifice".^{[citation needed]}
• There is a memorial to the USS Dorchester and The Four Chaplains in a public park in Dorchester, Wisconsin.^{[citation needed]}
• At St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Hebron, Maryland has a small memorial set up inside of the church.^{[citation needed]}
• There is a window depicting the loss of the Dorchester at the Post Chapel at West Point.^[11]
• Alexander D. Goode Elementary School in York, Pennsylvania is named after Rabbi Goode and the school and its students honor the four Chaplains annually.

[edit] See also

World War II portal

• Chaplain Corps (United States Army)
• Chaplain's Medal for Heroism

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Four Chaplains

• Listen to the story of the Four Chaplains online – The American Storyteller Radio Journal
• The Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation
• The Immortal Chaplains Foundation
• Chapel of Four Chaplains (at Find A Grave)
• U.S.A.T. Dorchester Files
• The Story of the Four Chaplains Postage Stamp
• Scouts on Stamps Society International: The Immortal Chaplains
• "Four Chaplains". NPR. http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/memorialday/particulars.shtml.  (five NPR clips, including: "History of the USAT Dorchester"; "Audio Clip of Rabbi [Goode's] Wife"; "Audio Clip of Survivors"; and "Speech by Archbishop Desmond Tutu" excerpted from his speech at The Immortal Chaplains Foundation's 1999 Prize for Humanity ceremony)
• Variety article about a the development of a possible movie ("Lifeboat 13") based on the story of the Four Chaplains
• FAU.edu
• HomeOfHeroes.com