Four Chaplains Day

Who Were the Four Chaplains?

 

The men who came to be known as the Four Chaplains were Methodist minister the Reverend George L. Fox, Reformed Church in America minister the Reverend Clark V. Poling, Reform Rabbi Alexander D. Goode (PhD), and Roman Catholic priest Father John P. Washington. The four men had met while attending Chaplains School at Harvard in preparation for each of their appointments as chaplains.

George Lansing Fox was born March 15, 1900, in Lewistown, Pennsylvania. He left school at 17 and lied about his age in order to serve as an Army medical corp assistant in WWI. During his tour of duty, Fox was awarded the Purple Heart, the Silver Star, and the French Croix de Guerre for his bravery. Then, during WWII, Fox accepted an appointment as an Army chaplain on July 24, 1942 and began active duty on August 8, 1942. After he completed Army Chaplains school at Harvard, Fox reported to the 411th Coast Artillery Battalion at Camp Davis in North Carolina.

Clark Vandersall Poling was born August 7, 1910, in Columbus, Ohio. He studied at Yale University’s Divinity School in New Haven, Connecticut. Polling graduated with his B.D. degree in 1936, and was ordained in the Reformed Church in America. During WWII, he applied to serve as an Army chaplain, and accepted his appointment on June 10, 1942. On June 25, he reported to the 131st Quartermaster Truck Regiment at Camp Shelby, Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

Reform Rabbi Alexander D. Goode (PhD) was born in Brooklyn, New York on May 10, 1911. He studied for the rabbinate at Hebrew Union College. He graduated with a B.H. degree in 1937, and then received his PhD from Johns Hopkins University in 1940. Goode had originally applied to become a Navy chaplain in 1941, but was not accepted. However, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he applied to become an Army chaplain. Goode received his appointment on July 21, 1942 and went on active duty on August 9, 1942. After Chaplains School at Harvard, he was then assigned to the 333rd Airbase Squadron in Goldsboro, North Carolina.

John Patrick Washington was born in Newark, New Jersey on July 18, 1908. To prepare for entrance into the priesthood, he completed high school and college courses at Seton Hall, in South Orange, New Jersey. Washington graduated in 1931 with an A.B. Degree, then entered Immaculate Conception Seminary in Darlington, New Jersey, where he was ordained a priest on June 15, 1935. Shortly after Pearl Harbor, Washington received his appointment as an Army chaplain. He reported for active duty on May 9, 1942, and was assigned to the 76th Infantry Division in Ft. George Meade, Maryland in June.

 

 

Sinking of the SS Dorchester

After the four new chaplains had completed Chaplain School at Harvard, they all boarded the USAT Dorchester to travel to Europe and report to their new assignments. The Dorchester left New York on Jan. 23, 1943, with a convoy of ships headed for the Army Command Base at Narsarsuaq in southern Greenland. The vessel carried a total of 904 service members.

Because German U-Boats were known to monitor sea lanes, and because Coast Guard sonar detected submarine activity in the area the convoy would travel through, the ship’s captain Hans J. Danielsen ordered the ship’s crew to be on high alert. This included orders for the men to sleep in their clothing and keep their life jackets on most of the time. Due to the heat deep in the ship’s hold, many men disregarded these orders and slept without clothes. Many also opted not to wear their life jackets due to how bulky and uncomfortable these were.

On Feb. 3, 1943, at 12:55 a.m., German submarine U-223 torpedoed the Dorchester off the coast of Newfoundland. This blow knocked out the ship’s electrical system. As darkness set in, so did panic, as many men were trapped below decks. In the midst of this chaos, the chaplains worked together to try and instill calm and also help as many men as they could. This cooperation was deemed extraordinary at the time due to the four being from such different backgrounds and beliefs.

There are numerous eye-witness accounts of the four chaplains’ heroism. When the supply of life jackets ran out before each man had one, the chaplains removed their own life jackets and gave them to others. The chaplains also helped as many men as they could into lifeboats.

Petty Officer John J. Mahoney recalled that, when he attempted to reenter his cabin to retrieve his gloves for protection against the Arctic cold, Rabbi Goode stopped him, said, “Never mind. I have two pairs,” and gave Mahoney gloves. The petty officer later realized the sacrifice Rabbi Goode had made: the rabbi had not had two pairs of gloves, but given his only gloves to Mahoney with the intention to remain on the Dorchester.

As he floated in the frigid Arctic water, surrounded by debris, oil, and dead bodies, Pvt. William B. Bednar heard “men crying, pleading, praying. I could also hear the chaplains preaching courage. Their voices were the only thing that kept me going.”

Grady Clark, another survivor, said, “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.” The four then linked arms, said prayers, and sang hymns as they went down with the ship.

Because the water temperature was 34 degrees and the air temperature was 36 degrees, hundreds of men died due to hypothermia before rescue ships came. Of the 904 men aboard the ship, only 230 were rescued.