The Story of the Four Immortal Chaplains

On this episode of Our American Stories, on February 3rd, 1943 the USS Dorchester sank into the icy waters of the North Atlantic within 20 minutes—it was the single deadliest loss of American troops in a convoy in our nation's history. But in this tragedy, there was also heroism and selfless acts of faith. Craig Du Mez of the Grateful Nation Project tells the story of four chaplains of different faiths who paid the ultimate sacrifice. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:10):
And we returned to our American stories. Up next, another
story courtesy of the great folks at the Grateful Nation Project.
On February third, nineteen forty three, one of the worst
sea disasters in the history of the United States Navy
transpired far off the coast of Greenland as the USS Dorchester,

(00:30):
a converted luxury ocean liner filled with troops, sank into
the icy waters of the North Atlantic. Six hundred and
seventy four men would die, the largest loss of troops
in a convoy during the entire war. But amidst the tragedy,
there was courageous beauty Here to tell the story of

(00:51):
the Immortal Chapelains is Craig Dumay take it away.

Speaker 2 (00:54):
Craig a Methodist, a Rabbi, a Dutch Reformed minister, and
a walk on to a ship that sounds like the
first line of a joke you might hear in a bar.
This is the story of the selfless bravery of four
men of different faiths. George Lansing Fox was born in Lewistown, Pennsylvania,

(01:23):
in nineteen hundred, one of five children. Eager to leave home,
he quit school at age seventeen and convinced Army officials
that he was eighteen. As the United States entered the
Great War, Fox trained as an ambulance driver and medical orderly,
then was sent to France and the war's Western Front.
Fox's bravery earned him the Silver Star Medal and the

(01:46):
French Qua Deghier for rescuing a wounded soldier from the
battlefield filled with poison gas, even though he wore no
mask himself. After the war, Fox was married and became
an itinerant Methodist preacher. With his service as a war veteran,
Fox was appointed as the State of Vermont's American Legion
chaplain and historian. With a surprise attack at Pearl Harbour

(02:09):
in December of nineteen forty one. Fully aware of the
horrors of war, George Fox joined the Army chaplain Service,
beginning active duty on August eighth, nineteen forty two. The
same day his son Wyat enlisted in the U. S.
Marine Corps. Our second Hero was born in Brooklyn, New York,
in May nineteen eleven. Alexander David Good was ordained as

(02:33):
a rabbi at Hebrew Union College in nineteen thirty seven.
Good gave public lectures on Jewish history and during the
nineteen thirties, Rabbi Good grew increasingly concerned about Adolf Hitler's
rise to power and reports of mistreatment of Jews in Europe.
He applied to join the Navy chaplaincy in nineteen forty one,

(02:54):
but was told he was not needed. Good again applied,
this time for the U. S. Army Chaplain Corps, and
was accepted. First stationed at Seymour Johnson Field in Goldsboro,
North Carolina, Good requested a transfer to the front lines.
Next to we have Clark Vandersall Polling. His father, Doctor
Daniel Poling, was an evangelical minister and well known Christian author, journalist,

(03:19):
and broadcaster, and president of the Armed Services Chaplain Association.
Clark Polling's vocation seemed inevitable. With a heritage of six
previous generations of clergymen, Clark too felt the call to ministry.
After the Japanese attack, Reverend Polling volunteered as a chaplain,
following in his father's footsteps. Our fourth chaplain is John

(03:46):
Patrick Washington born in nineteen o eight in Newark, New Jersey.
His parents, Frank and Mary Washington, were poor Irish Catholic immigrants,
and John grew up in some rough neighborhoods. As early
as the seventh grade, John knew that he wanted to
be a priest. Shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor,
Father Washington received an appointment as an army chaplain. All

(04:14):
four men would soon be forever joined together because of
an act of uncommon selflessness and courage. On January twenty three,
nineteen forty three, the US Army transport ship Dorchester left
New York Harbor, sailing through the North Atlantic into the

(04:37):
Labrador Sea. Dorchester was a civilian coastal liner, stripped of
its cruise ship luxuries and converted into a troop transport
for the U. S Army. Her destination was the southern
tip of Greenland. The dangerous trip kept American service members
on edge. Imagine being an American soldier, trained and ready

(04:58):
to fight, but pat lake sarg into a slow moving vessel,
far from the comforts of home, crossing rough, icy seas,
and knowing that an unseen enemy is lurking somewhere below you,
and you have no real way to fight back. The
Dorchester's holds were packed with a thousand tons of equipment.
She carried nine hundred and two souls, among them five

(05:20):
hundred and ninety seven soldiers and one hundred and seventy
one civilian workers and merchant seamen. First Sergeant Michael Warish
recalls making his rounds aboard the Dorchester and coming across
four men huddled together having an animated discussion. The four
chaplains aboard the ship called him over. They asked for
his help in spreading the word about religious services and

(05:43):
about a talent contest being planned as a diversion for
the troops who had nothing to do but worry about
the tension filled transit through what had become known as
Torpedo Junction. Eleven days after leaving New York, harp Convoy
SG nineteen was nearing safe waters off Greenland's coast on

(06:04):
February three, nineteen forty three, but the escort ship's sonar
had picked up the presence of four German U boats.
An announcement was made over Dorchester's PA system, ordering the
soldiers to sleep in their clothes and life veests. Just
one hundred and fifty miles from their destination. U two
two three fired three torpedoes at the Dorchester. One exploded

(06:33):
into her starboard side. One hundred men were killed. Instantly,
panic swept the dying vessel. Those not trapped below decks
scrambled topside. Stunned from the explosion, the frigid darkness and
the blasting Arctic winds, Dorchester would slip beneath the waves
of the Atlantic's icy waters within twenty minutes. The four

(06:59):
usr many Chaplains were on the deck that fateful night.
According to the U. S. Army's account, Once topside, the
Chaplains opened a storage locker and began distributing life jackets.
It was then that engineer Grady Clark witnessed an astonishing sight.
When there were no more life jackets in the storage room,
the Chaplains simultaneously removed theirs and gave them to four

(07:22):
frightened young men. As the ship went down, survivors in
nearby rafts could see the four Chaplains arms linked and
braced against the slanting deck. Their voices could also be
heard offering prayers and singing hymns. Only two hundred and
thirty of the nine hundred and two men aboard Dorchester survived.

(07:45):
Each of the four Chaplains was posthumously awarded the Distinguished
Service Cross for their bravery. Their actions on February three,
nineteen forty three became an enduring example of faith and
self sacrifice.

Speaker 1 (08:06):
And a terrific job on the production, editing and storytelling
by our own Monty Montgomery, And a special thanks to
Craig Dumay. He works with a Grateful Nation project and
we appreciate the storytelling as I'm sure you do too.
A particular favorite of our shows is just self sacrifice
and of course what people have done during wartime, our soldiers,

(08:27):
and of course so many who serve our soldiers, including
our chaplains, Rabbi good Clark Polling, George Fox, John Patrick Washington,
all posthumously awarded Distinguished Service Crosses for offering up their
life vests to four petrified seamen, and what a thing
to do, and singing while they went down, serving their

(08:49):
Lord alive as they would serve him forever. And what
a story about war. These boys are heading straight through
what was called torpedo jungk that were warned what might happened.
It happened, and well we know the count six hundred
and seventy four dead. And that's why we tell these
stories always a reminder of those that came before us

(09:12):
and paid the ultimate sacrifice. The story of the Four
Immortal Chaplains. Here on our American stories.