Have you heard the story of the ‘Immortal Chaplains’?  If not, then the ‘Dorchester Chaplains’?

Whether you have heard of one of them or both, these men are the same group of people.  They were four World War II chaplains who died rescuing civilian and military personnel as the troop ship SS Dorchester sank on   February   3, 1943.

Their names   were   Methodist minister the Reverend George   L. Fox, Reform Rabbi Alexander D. Goode (PhD), Catholic priest Father John P. Washington, and Reformed Church in America minister the Reverend Clark V. Poling. Their backgrounds, personalities, and denominations were different. They met at the Army Chaplains School at Harvard University, where they prepared for assignments in the European theater, sailing on board Dorchester to report to their new assignments.

The ship left New York on January 23, 1943, en route to Greenland, carrying approximately 900 others, as part of a convoy of three ships escorted by Coast Guard Cutters Tampa, Escanaba, and Comanche. During the early morning hours of February 3rd, the vessel was torpedoed thrice by a German submarine

German submarine toward its middle.  One of the torpedoes struck the starboard side far below the water line, causing irreparable damage and immediately killing scores of men. The entire vessel would sink to the bottom of the Atlantic within thirty minutes. The captain gave the order to abandon ship. In the pandemonium that followed, men searched for life jackets and rafts in the dark, desperately trying to save their lives.

The chaplains helped the 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 impact of the chaplain’s story was deep, with many memorials and coverage in the media.  Each of the four chaplains was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the Purple Heart.  The chaplains were nominated for the Medal of Honor, but were found ineligible as they had not engaged in combat with the enemy. Instead, Congress created a medal for them, with the same weight and importance as the Medal of Honor.

The chaplains helped the 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.