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Early one February
morning in 1943, the U.S. troop transport Dorchester was wallowing through icy
seas off Greenland. Most of the 900 troops on board were asleep in their bunks.
Suddenly a torpedo smashed into the Dorchester's thin flank. Frantically
pounding up the ladders, the troops milled in confusion on the unfamiliar decks.
The chaplains, who all held the rank of lieutenant, were the Methodist Reverend
George L. Fox, the Jewish rabbi Alexander D. Goode, the Roman Catholic Priest
John P. Washington and the Reformed Church in America Reverend Clark V. Poling.
The four chaplains were sailing on then USAT Dorchester troop transport on
February 3, 1943 when the vessel was torpedoed by the Kriegsmarine's 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 belts.
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
The Dorchester went down 25 minutes later in a rumble of steam; some 600 men
were lost, but the heroic chaplains had helped save over 200. The last anyone
saw of them, they were standing on the slanting deck, their arms linked, in
prayer. |
