Four Chaplains

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Four Chaplains

The Four Chaplains were four Army chaplains who gave their lives when the USAT Dorchester was hit by a torpedo and sank on February 3, 1943. They helped other soldiers board lifeboats and gave up their life jackets when the supply ran out. 230 men of the 902 aboard survived the attack.

1 Who they were
2 Memorial
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Who they were

The chaplains were Lieutenants Rev. George L. Fox (Methodist); Rabbi Alexander D. Goode (Jewish); Fr. John P. Washington (Roman Catholic); and Rev. Clark V. Poling (Dutch Reformed). The four chaplains were all sailing on the USAT Dorchester troop transport ship on 3 February 1943 when the vessel was torpedoed by the German U-Boat U-223. As the vessel sank, the four chaplains calmed the frightened soldiers and sailors, aided in the evacuation of the ship, and helped guide wounded men to safety. The chaplains also gave up their own life vests. A survivor of the sinking, Engineer Grady Clark later recalled,

"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 Chaplins 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."^[1]

On 19 December 1944, all four chaplains were posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Distinguished Service Cross.^[2] The Chaplain's Medal for Heroism was authorized in 1961 and posthumously presented by the President of the United States to the families of the chaplains.

Four Chaplains

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

Three of the four chaplains were Boy Scouts or Boy Scout Leaders.

[edit] Memorial

A chapel in their honor was dedicated on February 3, 1951 by President Harry S. Truman to honor these soldiers of different faiths. The chapel was originally at the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge, but has moved to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.

Memorial, Ann Arbor, Michigan

A memorial created by sculptor Carlton W. Angell was dedicated to the Four Chaplains in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1954.

The chapel at the Pittsburgh International Airport was dedicated to the four chaplains in 1994.

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.

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.

There is a "Field of the Four Chaplains" at Fort Benning, Georgia.

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.

In addition, there is also a musical composition entitled "The Light Eternal", written by James Swearingen in 1992, telling the story of that fateful day through music.

[edit] References

^ Kvaran, Einar Einarsson, An Annoted Inventory of Outdoor Sculpture of Washtenaw County, unpublished document, 1989
^ http://www.fourchaplains.org/story.html