S T O R I E S
Feb. 3, is "Four Chaplains Day" in America by the unanimous
resolution of the U.S. Congress in 1988.Who are they, and why do we honor them? Do we Americans,
generally, know, and transmit to our young, the story of the
Four Chaplains and their heroism in World War II; their willing,
knowing and loving ultimate sacrifice of their lives in service
to God and country so "that others may live;" the lesson of
their lives?On Feb. 3, 1943, the Dorchester, a converted luxury cruise
ship, was transporting Army troops to Greenland in World War
II, escorted by three Coast Guard Cutters and accompanied by
two slow moving freighters.On board were some 900 troops, and four chaplains, of diverse
religions and backgrounds, but of a common faith and commitment
to serve God, country and all the troops, regardless of their
religious beliefs, or non-belief. The Four Chaplains are: Rev.
George Fox (Methodist); Father John Washington (Roman Catholic);
Jewish Rabbi Alexander Goode; and Rev. Clark Poling (Dutch
Reformed).At approximately 12:55 a.m., in the dead of a freezing night,
the Dorchester was hit by a torpedo fired by German U-boat 233
in an area so infested with German submarines it was known as
"Torpedo Junction." The blast ripped a hole in the ship from
below the waterline to the top deck.The engine room was instantly flooded. Crewmen who were not
scalded to death by steam escaping from broken pipes and the
ship's boiler, were drowned. Hundreds of troops in the flooded
lower compartments were drowned, or washed out to the frigid
waters, where most would die.In less than a minute, the Dorchester lost way, and listed on
a 30-degree angle. Troops on deck searched for life jackets in
panic, clung to rails and other handholds, saw overloaded
lifeboats overturn in the turgid water, leaped overboard as a
last desperate hope for life. Many with lifejackets drowned
when the life-preservers became water-logged.Of the 900 troops and crew on board, two-thirds would
ultimately die - most of those who survived, had lifelong
infirmities and pain from their time in the icy waters.Dorchester survivors told of the wild pandemonium on board
when it was hit and began sinking. Many men had not slept in
their clothes and life vests as ordered because of the heat
in the crowded quarters below. There was panic, fear, terror
- death was no abstraction but real, immediate, seemingly
inescapable.The Four Chaplains acted together to try bring some order to
the chaos, to calm the panic of the troops, to alleviate their
fear and terror, to pray with and for them, to help save their
lives and souls.The chaplains passed out lifejackets, helping those too
panicked to put them on correctly, until the awful moment
arrived when there were no more life jackets to be given out.
It was then that a most remarkable act of heroism, courage,
faith and love took place:Each of the Four Chaplains took off his life jacket, and,
knowing that act made death certain, put his life jacket on a
soldier who didn't have one, refusing to listen to any
protest that they should not make such a sacrifice.They continued to help the troops until the last moment.
Then, as the ship sank into the raging sea, the Four
Chaplains linked hands and arms, and could be seen and heard
by the survivors praying together, even singing hymns, joined
together in faith, love and unity as they sacrificed their
lives so "that others might live."The few survivors testified to the selfless act of the Four
Chaplains:"The ship started sinking ... and as I left the ship, I looked
back and saw the chaplains ... with their hands clasped,
praying for the boys. They never made any attempt to save
themselves, but they did try to save the others. I think their
names should be on the list of 'The Greatest Heroes' of this
war," testified Grady L. Clark."I saw all four chaplains take off their life belts and give
them to soldiers who had none ... The last I saw of them they
were still praying, talking and preaching to the soldiers,"
attested survivor Thomas W.Myers Jr."It is impressed clearly in my mind that these chaplains
demonstrated unsurpassed courage and heroism when they
willingly gave their life belts to four enlisted men, who,
because of the utter confusion and disorder brought about by
the torpedoing, had become hysterical ... They helped save the
lives of many of the troops," testified John F. Garey.These testimonies, taken from author Dan Kurzman's valuable
book "No Greater Glory: The Four Immortal Chaplains and the
Sinking of the Dorchester in World War II," are but some of
the sworn statements of grateful survivors upon which Congress
awarded the Four Chaplains an unprecedented "Congressional
Medal of Valor" in 1961.Earlier, in 1944, they were awarded Purple Hearts and the
Distinguished Service Cross. They did not receive the Medal
of Honor because of restrictions limiting that medal to
combatants. In 2004, delegates to The American Legion National
Convention representing 2.7-million wartime veterans, voted to
support making an exception and awarding the Medal of Honor to
the Four Chaplains.The lesson of their lives is as inspiring
as is the lesson of their ultimate sacrifice. Information is
available from a number of sources, principally by the
Immortal Chaplains Foundation, and the affiliated Chapel of
the Four Chaplains, which awards the Immortal Chaplains Prize
for Humanity, and whose logo is: "That others may live."
(www.immortalchaplains.org; The Immortal Chaplains Foundation,
Hamline University, Box48, St. Paul, MN 55104)At the dedication of the Chapel of the Four Chaplains in 1951,
then-President Harry S. Truman said their sacrifice reflected
the fact that "the unity of our country is a unity under God.""This interfaith shrine ... will stand through long generations
to teach Americans that as men can die heroically as brothers,
so should they live together in mutual faith and good will,"
President Truman said.Ben Epstein, a Jewish survivor who often spoke to audiences
about the Four Chaplains, was quoted by author Kurzman as
describing the meaning of their sacrifice by putting a
question to himself, and, thereby, to all other Americans:I ask myself, could I do it? Take my life-preserver and give
it to someone else? Absolutely not. I don't think I could do
it. I didn't do it. And I ask you ... how many of you could do
it ? And I don't want an answer. That's why I say their bravery,
their heroism is beyond belief. That is one of the reasons why
we must tell the world what these people did.More...