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From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
The Four
Chaplains, also sometimes referred to as the
"Immortal Chaplains," were four United States Army
chaplains who gave their lives to save other civilian
and military personnel 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.
The
four men were relatively new chaplains, who all held the
rank of lieutenant. They included Methodist minister the
Reverend George L. Fox, Rabbi Alexander D. Goode, Roman
Catholic priest the Reverend John P. Washington, and
Reformed Church in America minister the Reverend Clark
V. Poling. Their backgrounds, personalities, and faiths
were different, although Goode, Poling and Washington
had all served as leaders in the Boy Scouts of America.
They would meet at the Army Chaplains School at Harvard
University, where they would prepare for assignments in
the European theater, sailing on board USAT Dorchester
to report to their new assignments.
George L.
Fox was born
March 15, 1900 in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, the eldest of
8 children. When he was 17, he left school and lied
about his age in order to join the Army to serve in
World War I. He joined the ambulance corps in 1917,
assigned to Camp Newton D. Baker in Texas. On December
3, 1917, George embarked from Camp Merritt, New Jersey,
and boarded the US Huron en route to France. As a
medical corps assistant, he was highly decorated for
bravery and was awarded the Silver Star, Purple Heart
and the French Croix de Guerre. Upon his discharge, he
returned home to Altoona, where he completed High
School. He entered Moody Institute in Illinois in 1923.
He and Isadore G. Hurlbut, of Vermont were married in
1923, when he began his religious career as an itinerant
preacher in the Methodist faith. He later graduated from
Illinois Wesleyean University in Bloomington, served as
a student pupil in Rye, New Hampshire, and then studied
at the Boston University School of Theology, where he
was ordained a Methodist minister on June 10, 1934. He
served parishes in Union Village and Gilman, Vermont,
and was appointed state chaplain and historian for the
American Legion in Vermont.
In 1942,
Fox volunteered to serve as an Army Chaplain, accepting
his appointment July 24, 1942. He began active duty
August 8, 1942, the same day his son Wyatt enlisted in
the Marine Corps. After Army Chaplains school at
Harvard, he reported to the 411th Coast Artillery
Battalion at Camp Davis. He was then united with
Chaplains Goode, Poling and Washington at Camp Myles
Standish in Taunton, Massachusetts, where they prepared
to depart for Europe on board the USAT Dorchester.
_________________________
Rabbi
Alexander D. Goode was born in Brooklyn, New York on
May 10, 1911, the son of Rabbi Hyman Goodekowitz. He was
raised in Washington, D.C., attending Eastern High
School, eventually deciding to follow his father's
footsteps by studying for the rabbinate himself, at
Hebrew Union College (HUC), where he graduated with a
B.H. degree in 1937. He later received his Ph.D. from
Johns Hopkins University in 1940. While studying for the
rabbinate at HUC, he worked at the Washington Hebrew
Congregation during summer breaks.
He
originally applied to become a Navy chaplain in January
1941, but was not accepted. After Pearl Harbor was
attacked in 1941, he applied to the Army, receiving his
appointment as a chaplain on July 21, 1942. Chaplain
Goode went on active duty on August 9, 1942 and he was
selected for the Chaplains School at Harvard. He had
courses in map reading, first aid, law, and chemical
warfare. Chaplain Goode was then assigned to the 333rd
Airbase Squadron in Goldsboro, North Carolina. In
October 1942, he was transferred to Camp Myles Standish
in Taunton, Massachusetts and reunited with Chaplains
Fox, Poling and Washington, who were classmates at
Harvard.
_________________________
Clark V.
Poling was born August 7, 1910 in Columbus, Ohio,
the son of Evangelical Minister Dan Poling, who was
re-baptized in 1936 as a Baptist minister. Clark Poling
studied at Yale University's Divinity School in New
Haven, Connecticut and graduated with his B.D. degree in
1936. He was ordained in the Reformed Church in America,
and served first in the First Church of Christ, New
London, Connecticut, and then as Pastor of the First
Reformed Church in Schenectady, New York. He married
Betty Jung.
With the
outbreak of World War II, Poling decided to enter the
Army, wanting to face the same danger as others. His
father, who had served as a World War I chaplain, told
him chaplains risk and give their lives, too -- and with
that knowledge, he applied to serve as an Army Chaplain,
accepting an appointment on June 10, 1942 as a chaplain
with the 131st Quartermaster Truck Regiment, reporting
to Camp Shelby, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on June 25.
Later he reported to Army Chaplains School at Harvard
where he would meet Chaplains Fox, Goode, and
Washington.
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John P. Washington
was born in Newark, New
Jersey on July 18, 1908. He studied at Seton Hall in
South Orange, New Jersey to complete his high school and
college courses in preparation for the Catholic
priesthood. He graduated in 1931 with an A.B. degree,
entering Immaculate Conception Seminary in Darlington,
New Jersey, where he received his minor orders on May
26, 1933. He served as a sub-deacon at all the solemn
masses, and later became a deacon on December 25, 1934.
He was elected prefect of his class and was ordained a
priest on June 15, 1935.
Father
Washington's first parish was at St. Genevieve's in
Elizabeth, New Jersey, later serving at St. Venantius
for a year. In 1938, he was assigned to St. Stephen's in
Arlington, New Jersey. Shortly after the Pearl Harbor
attack of December 7, 1941, he received his appointment
as a chaplain in the United States Army, reporting for
active duty May 9, 1942. He was named Chief of the
Chaplains Reserve Pool, in Ft. Benjamin Harrison,
Indiana, and in June 1942, he was assigned to the 76th
Infantry Division in Ft. George Meade, Maryland. In
November 1942, he reported to Camp Myles Standish in
Taunton, Massachusetts and met Chaplains Fox, Goode and
Poling at Chaplains School at Harvard.
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The
Ship:
 The
Dorchester was a 5,649 ton civilian cruise ship, 368
feet long with a 52-foot beam and a single funnel,
originally built in 1926 by Newport News Shipbuilding
and Dry Dock Company, for the Merchants and Miners Line,
operating ships from Baltimore to Florida, carrying both
freight and passengers. It was the third of four liners
being built for the Line.
The ship
was converted for military service in World War II as a
troop transport, and renamed United States Army
Transport (USAT) Dorchester. The conversion was done in
New York by the Atlantic, Gulf, and West Indies (AGWI)
SS Company, and included additional lifeboats and
liferafts; guns (a 3 inch 50 caliber gun forward, and a
4 inch 50 caliber gun aft, in addition to four 20mm
guns); and changes to the large windows in the pilot
house so that they would be reduced to slits to afford
more protection. A liner designed for 314 passengers and
90 crew would now be able to carry slightly more than
900 passengers and crew.
The Story:
 The
Dorchester left New York on January 23, 1943, en route
to Greenland, carrying the four chaplains and
approximately 900 others, as part of a convoy of three
ships (SG-19 convoy). Most of the military personnel
were not told the ship's ultimate destination. The
convoy was escorted by Coast Guard Cutters Tampa,
Escanaba, and Comanche.
The ship's
captain, Hans J. Danielsen, had been alerted that Coast
Guard sonar had detected a submarine. Because German
U-boats were monitoring sea lanes and had attacked and
sunk ships earlier during the war, Captain Danielsen had
the ship's crew on a state of high alert even before he
received that information, ordering the men to sleep in
their clothing and keep their life jackets on. "Many
soldiers sleeping deep in the ship's hold disregarded
the order because of the engine's heat. Others ignored
it because the life jackets were uncomfortable."
During the
early morning hours of February 3, 1943, at 12:55 a.m.,
the vessel was torpedoed by the German submarine
off Newfoundland in the North Atlantic.
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.
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 -
According
to some reports, survivors could hear different
languages mixed in the prayers of the chaplains,
including Hebrew Jewish prayers and Latin Catholic
prayers.
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. The water
temperature was 34 °F
(1 °C) and the
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."
In Film:
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The
two-hour documentary No Greater Love tells
the story, including interviews with survivors,
rescuers, and naval historians.
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The
60-minute TV documentary The Four Chaplains:
Sacrifice at Sea was produced in 2004.
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A
feature film tentatively titled Lifeboat 13
is reportedly being considered for production, as of
2008.
In Print:
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The
book "Sea of Glory:The Magnificent Story of the Four
Chaplains," written by Francis Beauchesne Thornton,
was published by Prentice Hall in 1955.
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The
book "No Greater Glory: The Four Immortal Chaplains
and the Sinking of the Dorchester in World War II,"
written by Dan Kurzman, was published by Random
House in 2004.
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"Sea of
Glory: Based on the True WW II Story of the Four
Chaplains and the U.S.A.T. Dorchester," written by
Ken Wales and David Poling, is a 2006 book published
by B&H Publishing Group. As the title indicates, it
is "based on" the story, not an actual factual
account.
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The
story of the Four Chaplains was also printed in the
form of a comic book, "Chaplains at War," "The
Living Bible #3," 1946.
In Music:
In Art:
In addition to the
stained glass windows recalling the chaplains and their
heroism, paintings include
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Four
Chaplains, 1943, by Alton Tobey
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"A
Moment of Peace," Ft. Jackson, South Carolina,
painted by Steven Carter.
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The
Four Chaplains, Chapel of Four Chaplains.
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"The
Four Chaplains," by Art Seidan (the four, pictured
at the rail of the ship).
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Four
chaplains mural, by artist Connie Burns Watkins,
commissioned by the Rotary Club of New York,
Pennsylvania.
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Four
Chaplains mural, painted by Dean Fausett, at
entrance to Joseph "Ziggy" Kahn Gymnasium, Jewish
Community Center Irene Kaufman Building, Squirrel
Hill, Pennsylvania.
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"Four
Chaplains mural", painted by Connie Burns Watkins,
in York, Pennsylvania.
Awards:
 On
December 19, 1944, all four chaplains were posthumously
awarded the Purple Heart and the Distinguished Service
Cross.
Congress
also attempted to confer the Medal of Honor on each of
the four chaplains, but the stringent requirements for
that medal required heroism performed "under fire," and
the bravery and ultimate sacrifice of these men did not
technically qualify, since their actions took place
after the torpedo attack. Therefore, members of Congress
decided to authorize a special medal intended to have
the same weight and importance as the Medal of Honor.
This new award, the Chaplain's Medal for Heroism, was
officially established by a unanimous act of Congress on
July 14, 1960, through Public law 86-656 of the 86th
Congress. The medals were presented posthumously to the
next of kin of each of the Four Chaplains by Secretary
of the Army Wilber M. Brucker at Ft. Myer, Virginia on
January 18, 1961. As of 2011, it has never been awarded
to any chaplain other than the four who died when the
Dorchester sank.
In 2006,
National Executive Committee of The American Legion, at
the Legion's 88th National Convention in Salt Lake City,
passed a resolution urging Congress to revisit the issue
of awards, and award the Medal of Honor to Fox, Goode,
Poling and Washington.
Remembrance
Four
Chaplains Day:
In
1988, February 3 was established by a unanimous act of
Congress as an annual "Four Chaplains Day." Some state
or city officials commemorate the day with official
proclamations, sometimes including the order that flags
fly at half-mast in memory of the fallen chaplains.
In some cases, official proclamations establish
observances at other times: for example, North Dakota
legislation requests that the Governor issue an annual
proclamation establishing the first Sunday in February
as "Four Chaplains Sunday."
The day is
also observed as a feast day on the liturgical of the
Episcopal Church in the United States of America.
U.S.
Postage Stamp:
 The
chaplains were honored with a commemorative stamp that
was issued in 1948, and was designed by Louis Schwimmer,
the head of the Art Department of the New York branch of
the U.S. Post Office Department (now called the USPS).
This stamp is highly unusual, in that U.S. stamps were
not normally issued in someone's honor until, at least
at that time, at least 10 years after his or her death.
The stamp
went through three revisions before the final design was
chosen. None of the names of the chaplains were included
on the stamp, nor were their faiths (although the faiths
had been listed on one of the earlier designs): instead,
the words on the stamp were "These Immortal
Chaplains...Interfaith in Action." Another phrase
included in an earlier design that was not part of the
final stamp was "died to save men of all faiths."
Chapel of Four Chaplains:
The Chapel
of the Four Chaplains was dedicated on February 3, 1951,
by President Harry S. Truman to honor these chaplains of
different faiths in the basement of Grace Baptist church
in Philadelphia. In 1974, that congregation moved to
Blue Bell, and sold the building to Temple University.
Today Temple University is renovating that building.
In his
dedication speech, the President said, “This interfaith
shrine... will stand through long generations to teach
Americans that as men can die heroically as brothers so
should they live together in mutual faith and goodwill.”
The Chapel
dedication included a reminder that the interfaith team
represented by the Four Chaplains was unusual. Although
the Chapel was dedicated as an All-Faiths Chapel, no
Catholic priest took part in the dedication ceremony,
because, as Msgr. Thomas McCarthy of the National
Catholic Welfare Conference explained to Time magazine,
"canon law forbids joint worship."
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 military
chaplain team composed of a rabbi, priest, and minister,
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 by President Ronald Reagan, on April 12, 1984.
Memorial Foundations:
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The
Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation, the only
501(c)(3) charity related to the Four Chaplains'
legacy, is housed at the former U.S. Naval Chapel
located at the former South Philadelphia Navy Yard.
Its official mission statement is "to further the
cause of 'unity without uniformity' by encouraging
goodwill and cooperation among all people. The
organization achieves its mission by advocating for
and honoring people whose deeds symbolize the legacy
of the Four Chaplains aboard the U.S.A.T. Dorchester
in 1943."In addition to its other goals and
objectives, it supports memorial services that honor
the memory of the chaplains and tell their story by
publishing Guidelines for Four Chaplains Interfaith
Memorial Services. Additionally, it sponsors an
"Emergency Chaplains Corps" to provide support for
first responders in disaster situations, and
scholarship competitions for graduating high school
seniors, focusing on the values of "inclusion,
cooperation, and unity" exemplified by the Four
Chaplains story. The competitions include a National
Art Scholarship contest, a National Essay
Scholarship contest, and a National Project
Lifesaver Scholarship contest.
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The
Immortal Chaplains Foundation was incorporated in
October 1997 as a Minnesota non-profit corporation.
The original concept for the Foundation was from
David Fox, nephew of Chaplain George Fox, and
Rosalie Goode Fried, the daughter of Chaplain
Alexander Goode. The organization's goal is
"to honor individuals, both past and present, whose
lives exemplify the compassion of the four 'Immortal
Chaplains' and who have risked all to protect others
of different faith or ethnicity." The group presents
an annual "Prize for Humanity," "to broaden national
and international awareness of the legacy of the
four 'Immortal Chaplains,'" "to inspire youth to the
values of the four 'Immortal Chaplains,'" and "to
find new partners and ways to tell this story and
preserve the legacy." At the 1999 Award Ceremony,
held in Minnesota, South African Bishop Desmond Tutu
helped present Prizes for Humanity that included
posthumous awards for Amy Biehl, an American
Stanford University student and Fulbright scholar
who was stabbed to death in South Africa while
working to establish a Legal Education Center; and
Charles W. David, an African-American Coastguardsman
on board the Coastguard cutter "Comanche," who
rescued many of the Dorchester survivors, later
dying from pneumonia as a result of his efforts.
Unfortunately, the establishment of the Immortal
Chaplains Foundation included some controversy, when
The Chapel of Four Chaplains sued Fox to prevent him
and his new group from using the phrase "The Four
Chaplains" or the image of them that appeared on the
U.S. postage stamp.
Chapels and Sanctuaries:
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Immortal Chaplains Memorial Sanctuary - On the
Queen Mary in Long Beach, California, and
operated by The Immortal Chaplains Foundation. The
foundation was 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.
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The
chapel at the Pittsburgh International Airport was
dedicated to the four chaplains in 1994.
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Fort
Lewis, Washington, Four Chaplains' Memorial Chapel &
Family Life Center.
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Chapel
at Camp Tuckahoe, Boy Scouts of America, in York
County, Pennsylvania, dedicated in memory of
Chaplain Goode.
Stained Glass Windows:
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 United
States Pentagon, A Ring.
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Ft.
Bliss, Texas, in U.S. Army Sergeant Majors Academy
"Four Chaplains Classroom."
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Ft
Snelling, Minnesota, Chapel of Immortal Chaplains
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National Cathedral, Washington, D.C, Heroes Chapel
Window
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Post
Chapel at West Point.
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Memorial Chapel, United States Army War College,
Carlyle Barracks, Pennsylvania.
Sculptures and Plaques:
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Four
Chaplains Memorial, resembling a flying white bird
at the top of the National Memorial Park entrance
driveway, Washington, D.C., by abstract
expressionist, Constantino Nivola.
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Memorial created by sculptor Carlton W. Angell was
dedicated to the Four Chaplains in Ann Arbor,
Michigan in 1954.
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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.
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Memorial, public park, Dorchester, Wisconsin.
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Memorial plaque ("The Four Chaplains Marker"),
Kingwood Memorial Park, Ohio.
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St.
Paul's Episcopal Church, Hebron, Maryland: memorial
set up inside of the church.
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Plaque,
Rhode Island State House, commemorating the Four
Chaplains and a Rhode Island native, Walter McHugh,
a Coast Guard member who also lost his life on the
Dorchester
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Four Chaplains Memorial, Ft.
Wadsworth, Staten Island, New York.
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Four Chaplains Monument, Bottineau,
North Dakota.
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Four Chaplains Monument, Arbor Crest
Cemetery, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
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Memorial, Huntington Park, Newport
News, Virginia.
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Memorial sculpture, Washington Park
Cemetery, Indiana.
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Memorial outside American Legion Post 61, Sterling
St., Watertown, NY.
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Miscellaneous Remembrances:
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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.
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"Field
of the Four Chaplains" at Fort Benning, Georgia.
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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."
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Alexander D. Goode Elementary School in York,
Pennsylvania. Students honor the four Chaplains
annually.
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Four
Chaplains Memorial Swimming Pool, Veterans Hospital,
Bronx, New York.
Ceremonies and Services:
Ceremonies
and services are held each year on or around the Feb 3
"Four Chaplains Day" by numerous military and civilian
groups and organizations. 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. The First Parish Church (Unitarian
Universalist) in Dorchester, Massachusetts, hosts an
ecumenical "Service of the Four Chaplains" each January.
The American Legion commemorates the day through
services and programs at many posts throughout the
nation.
On February
14, 2002, as part of the annual award of the Immortal
Chaplains Prize for Humanity, a special reconciliation
meeting took place between survivors of both the
American and German sides of the sinking of the
Dorchester. Kurt Röser and Gerhard Buske, who had
been part of the crew of the German U-boat that had
torpedoed the Dorchester met with three Dorchester
survivors, Ben Epstein, Walter Miller, and David
Labadie, as well as Dick Swanson, who had been on board
the Coast Guard Cutter Comanche, escorting the
Dorchester's convoy.
On February
3, 2011, the Library of Congress Veterans History
Project and the United States Navy Memorial co-hosted a
special program at the Memorial, in Washington, D.C.
The Jewish
Chaplains Monument at Arlington National Cemetery's
Chaplains' Hill was dedicated on October 24, 2011. The
monument honors 14 Jewish chaplains who died during
their military service. The monument is a granite
upright with a bronze plaque, similar to the three other
monuments at the site honoring Catholic, Protestant and
World War I chaplains. Rabbi Goode's name is the first
listed on the plaque. The Jewish Chaplains Monument was
approved by the United States Congress in May 2011, and
the monument itself, designed by Debora Jackson of Long
Island, New York, was reviewed and approved by the U.S.
Fine Arts Commission on June 16, 2011. The dedication
ceremony was held in Arlington's Memorial Amphitheater.
The ceremony was attended by Ernie Heaton, who survived
the Dorchester sinking, and Richard Swanson who was on
the Coast Guard rescue team. |
