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Candles waiting to be lit as each of the Four Chaplains is remembered and honored at Saturday’s memorial service. PHOTO/TERRY LLOYD
A solemn ceremony was held Saturday at St. Cloud’s American Legion Post 80 to commemorate the sacrifice of four noble Army chaplains who died in World War II.
It was the evening of Feb. 3, 1943, when the United States Army Transport, Dorchester, was sailing the frigid waters of the North Atlantic off the coast of Newfoundland headed for an American base in Greenland. Part of a three-ship convoy, there were 902 servicemen onboard.
Laying in wait was the German submarine U-233, which fired three torpedoes, one exploding the Dorchester’s engine room. Within 20 minutes, the ship sank and 668 men perished. Among them were four military chaplains of different faiths: Rev. George Fox (Methodist), Jewish Rabbi Alexander Goode, Rev. Clark Poling (Dutch Reformed), and Fr. John Washington (Roman Catholic).
The four chaplains had put the lives of others before their own by helping wounded service members to lifeboats and distributing life jackets. After all of the ship’s life jackets had been distributed, the chaplains gave their own life jackets to other soldiers.
Eyewitnesses testified that four chaplains could be seen by flare light on the sinking ship, arms linked together, and the sounds of Hebrew, Latin and English prayers heard along with singing. Since that day, the chaplains have been known as the “Four Chaplains” and “The Immortal Chaplains.”
Saturday’s speaker was Mike Kepner, currently the Director of Military and Veteran Student Success at the University of Central Florida, and retired from the U.S. Army. Kepner was both a company and battalion commander during deployments to Iraq.
“Chaplains serving today are no different than the Four Chaplains we honor here today,” he said. “They always place the lives and well-being of others above themselves. I could always rely on my chaplains to let me know what was happening with our soldiers, good and bad, and the troops could always speak to the chaplains in complete confidence.”
Among the Four Chaplains, Rev. Fox had lied about his age to enlist as an Army medic in World War I. He was wounded and received the Silver Star medal for heroism. As a young man in 1921, Rabbi Goode walked 15 miles to Arlington National Cemetery to be part of the internment of the Unknown Soldier from World War I and served in the National Guard before the outbreak of World War II. Rev. Poling’s father had served as a front-line Army Chaplain in World War I.
A Special Medal for Heroism for the Four Chaplains was authorized by Congress and awarded by President Eisenhower, former Supreme Commander of Allied Forces during the war, on Jan. 18, 1961. The special medal was intended to have the same prominence and importance as the Medal of Honor.
U.S. military chaplains are all commissioned officers, but along with medical personnel are considered “noncombatants.” Their role is to be a familiar, friendly face to help spiritually guide, or otherwise assist, military personnel as professional counselors wherever they are. They are trained to minister to individuals across multiple faiths, as well as provide the religious services of their own faith.
More than 400 chaplains have died in combat since the start of the Civil War and nine chaplains have been awarded the Medal of Honor.
For more on the Four Chaplains story, see https:// bit.ly/3UnqdeM For more information on St. Cloud’s American Legion Post 80, see https://bit.ly/47XDIVC
