I was writing this for the Anniversary of the torpedo attack on the United States Army Transport (USAT) Dorchester that happened on 3 February 1943 on their way to the British Isles and just off the coast of Greenland. In memory of that day, each year the American Legion pays tribute to these men with a special church service at a local church known as "4 Chaplain's Sunday."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Writer's Note:
While writing something came up, so I saved the draft and then forgot about it. (Of all the things I've lost in my life I miss my mind the most. 😁) I guess the adage "Better late than never" applies here since I don't want to wait a year to post it.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The USAT Dorchester is the setting but the story is about 4 Chaplins, 1 Methodist, 1 Roman Catholic, 1 Rabbi, and 1 Reformed Church in America preacher who were aboard the Dorchester headed to the British Isles. All 4 men had met while attending Chaplains School at Harvard University.
The SS Dorchester was a coastal passenger steamship before it was requisitioned by the War Shipping Administration in January of 1942 and was then utilized as a troop transport (USAT) by the U.S. Army.
Chaplain George L. Fox
George was the oldest of the 4 Chaplains Chaplain Fiox was a medic in WW1 with the Marines. After WW1 he went to school to become an accountant but was unfulfilled in that role and decided to go into ministry to become a Methodist minister. When WW2 broke out George reenlisted in August 1942
Chaplain John P. Washington
John was born into a large Irish family in New Jersey and was a Catholic priest in his childhood neighborhood. He joined the Army on 9 May 1942 after hearing of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Chaplain Alexander D. Goode
Alexander was an athlete medaling in track and swimming. Alexander had a goal to follow his father and become a rabbi. While assigned to a synagogue he yearned for more and decided to enter Johns Hopkins University where he received his medical degree. He enlisted on 9 August 1942
Chaplain Clark V. Poling
Clark was a Massachusetts minister in the Reformed Church in America and a lieutenant in the U.S. Army. As soon as WWII broke out in 1942 Clark immediately volunteered for service as an Army chaplain, following in his father's footsteps who served as a chaplain during WWI. Clark was the youngest of the 4 chaplains.
In January of 1943, the 4 men boarded the USAT Dorchester with 900 soldiers being transported to the United Kingdom. On 2 February 1943 off of Greenland, a German U-boat, U-223, spotted the Dorchester and fired a torpedo which found its mark.
For her first patrol, U-223 departed Kiel on 12 January 1943. Keeping to the Norwegian side of the North Sea, she entered the Atlantic Ocean having negotiated the gap between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. She moved to the south of Greenland. There, she sank the troop transport SS Dorchester west of Cape Farewell on 3 February
Many of the lifeboats were damaged in the attack. There were hundreds of frightened men on deck. The chaplains sprung into action and began organizing the scared soldiers. They handed out life jackets and when there were no more life jackets the chaplains gave theirs to the soldiers. When all undamaged and seaworthy lifeboats were launched the chaplains prayed with those left on deck.
After the Dorchester slipped beneath the waves on 3 February 1943, the USCGC Escanaba and other Coast Guard vessels rescued dozens of survivors from the doomed Army troopship. (U.S. Coast Guard History Office)
Note: The North Atlantic in February is frigid and you wouldn't last long in the water.
There were 675 men left onboard including the chaplains. 27 minutes after the Dorchester was struck by the torpedo it disappeared below the surface. It was reported that the 4 chaplains were seen linked arm-in-arm praying and singing hymns. For their actions, the 4 chaplains were each awarded the Purple Heart and Distinguished Service Cross. The Distinguished Service Cross is the 2nd highest military medal, after the Medal of Honor.
That is the story of the 4 Chaplains. I am including a link for the more in-depth story on the U.S. Army Historical Foundation webpage.
I used resources from Wikipedia and the Army Historical Foundation for this blog post
Comments(7)