3
February 1943 A.D. USS
DORCHESTER: 4 Chaplains’ High Standards
of Heroism
Graves,
Dan. “4 Chaplains Set High Standard for Heroism.” Christianity.com. May 2007. http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1901-2000/4-chaplains-set-a-high-standard-of-heroism-11630775.html. Accessed
12 Jul 2014.
Many of the 902 men aboard the
ship ignored the order. The hold was hot
and the life jackets were too bulky to sleep in. Their disobedience cost many
of them their lives. Four who obeyed the captain's command were the ship's
chaplains.
Lt. George L. Fox, a Methodist;
Lt. Alexander D. Goode, a Jew; Lt. John P. Washington, a Roman Catholic; and
Lt. Clark V. Poling, Dutch Reformed, had befriended the homesick and seasick men
of the troopship. Now they were to be put to a severe test.
At 12:55 a.m. on this day, February 3,
1943, the German U-boat launched a torpedo at the Dorchester.
The bomb hit with deadly accuracy well below the water line. Many men were
killed outright by the explosion. Others were flung wounded and screaming to
the floor. Ammonia gas swirled through the hold, strangling others. In the
darkness and cold, men struggled to find their way out. Above the din, the
chaplains could be heard calming the men, comforting them, urging them to be
brave and directing them where to go.
It was evident the ship could
not stay afloat. The captain gave the order to abandon ship. Men scrambled for
life boats, overloading them. On deck, the chaplains preached courage. They opened
a locker with life vests and handed them to the men who needed them. Quickly
the supply was exhausted. Each of the four chaplains then peeled off his own
jacket and handed it to a man. "It was the finest thing I have seen or
hope to see this side of heaven," said John Ladd, one of the 230 men who
survived the attack.
Twenty-seven minutes after the Dorchester
was struck, it sank. Survivors said the last thing they saw was the four
chaplains linked arm in arm on the deck, praying. Moved by their heroism, Congress
afterward marked February 3rd as "Four Chaplains Day" and issued a
Special Medal of Heroism to the four, which their families received
posthumously.
Christ taught us "greater
love has no man than to lay down his life for his friends." We believe the
four chaplains who laid down their lives received greater honor from Christ
than any Congress could offer.
Bibliography:
Colson, Chuck. "No Greater Glory." Breakpoint.
(www.pfm.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=BreakPoint1&
Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=14387
Kurzman, Dan. No Greater Glory; The Four Immortal Chaplains and
the Sinking of the Dorchester in World War II. Random House, 2004.
Spohn, Jule. "The Four Chaplains." Old Neward
Memories. (www.oldnewark.com/memories/newark/spohnchaplains.htm)
"True Story of the Four Chaplains."
(www.homeofheroes.com/brotherhood/chaplains.html).
Numerous other internet articles.
Last updated May, 2007.
No comments:
Post a Comment