The story of the four brave men who gave the ultimate sacrifice in WWII in the winter of 1943 and became the namesake of Four Chaplains day is a powerful story of transcendence. All four men attended the same chaplain’s school at Harvard but came from completely different religious backgrounds. The chaplains, George L. Fox (Methodist), Alexander D. Goode (Jewish), Clark V. Poling (Dutch Reformed), and John P. Washington (Roman Catholic), may not have held services in the same manner or prayed in the same languages. Still, they all showed the same ultimate level of unshakeable commitment to faith and service in the face of horrifying circumstances.
These four men were the chaplains for the USAT Dorchester. This transport ship was originally a steam cruise vessel that was transformed into a soldier transport to move Army members to mainland Europe to fight the Nazis. The Dorchester was originally built to hold just over 500 tourists comfortably for pleasure cruises along New York’s Seaboard. The Army converted its plush living quarters into spartan sleeping spaces that ended up housing over 900 soldiers. On February 3rd, 1943, the Dorchester moved through an area off the coast of Newfoundland filled with German U-Boats called Torpedo Junction. The Captain of the Dorchester told his men to wear every bit of clothing they had and lifejackets at all times due to how dangerous the crossing was. Many of the men didn’t heed the warnings when they went to bed because the sleeping quarters were hot and the life jackets were bulky.
At just after 1:00 am, German U-Boat U223—which was part of a five boat “Wolf Pack” that had been stalking the Dorchester as well as three Coast Guard envoys—fired three torpedoes at the ship, and one blasted through the stern and blew up the boiler room. On top of immediately killing many soldiers on impact, the fatal hit immediately wiped out power to the entire ship. The light-less ship began to sink rapidly into the frigid pitch-black waters. Survivors described the darkness and chaos as absolutely terrifying.
Of the fourteen lifeboats on the Dorchester, only two successfully made it into the water. The rest were frozen to the sides of the transport ship. In one account from a survivor, a cook ran up from the galley with a butcher’s knife to ensure his place on a lifeboat and an officer, trying to maintain order, shot him. As the men frantically tried to decide what to do, some frozen in fear, the four chaplains acted as the voices of reason to restore a level of calm, hand out life jackets, and guide the men to their safest exits from the boat.
Survivors repeatedly spoke of all four chaplains' calm and generous demeanor throughout the catastrophe. One soldier had forgotten his gloves, and Rabbi Goode immediately handed the gloveless soldier his. When the soldier protested, Goode responded: “Never mind. I have two pairs.” In hindsight, it was clear to the soldier that Goode did not have two pairs of gloves—he intended to go down with the ship.
When all the extra life jackets were handed out, the four chaplains took off their life jackets and handed them to the next four soldiers in line. Survivors described the act as reflexive, like the chaplains didn’t even question the decision. “It was the finest thing I have seen or hope to see this side of heaven,” said one survivor. The four chaplains then linked arms and went down with the ship. They could be heard singing prayers together in Latin, Hebrew, and English.
The four chaplains were nominated for the Medal of Honor posthumously but did not receive it because their valor took place after the ship was struck, so the fighting had already taken place. Congress created a medal for them which held the same level of recognition as the Medal of Honor. This February 3rd marks the 78th anniversary of these four mens’ noble sacrifice for our country. We will be honoring Four Chaplains day here at Massif with equal parts gratitude and heavy hearts thinking of the dark loss in which their bravery shone.
