The Four Chaplains and the Sinking of USAT Dorchester

During World War II, scores of ocean liners were converted into troop transports for the Allied war effort. Mighty ships like Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, and Aquitania were pressed into service along with more humble liners like Evangeline, Yarmouth, and Borinquen. These ships collectively transported millions of Allied servicemen and women to all theaters of the war. The loss of one of these ships – especially while loaded with troops – would be a triumph for any U-boat skipper. 

On February 3, 1943, a ship called Dorchester was torpedoed and sunk by U-223 while enroute to Greenland. Of the 904 people on board, 674 went down with the ship. Among them were four US Army chaplains: a Catholic priest, a Jewish rabbi, and two Protestant ministers. 

The Four Chaplains, as they’ve become known, have gone down in history for their actions during the sinking. They tried to save as many people as possible while sacrificing themselves in the process. This Memorial Day, I wanted to share their story and that of the Dorchester’s as well. 

From Miami to Boston

The SS Dorchester was built by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Company for the Merchants and Miners Transportation Company. Launched on March 20, 1926, she was the second of three identical sister ships (the first being Chatham and the third being Fairfax). The 5,649 GRT ship was capable of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) and carried 314 passengers between Miami and Boston. She measured only 368 feet (112 m) long and 52 feet (16 m) across.

SS Dorchester. Author’s collection.

The Dorchester was a typical coastal liner of the era: small, comfortable, and reliable. While lacking the large and luxurious appointments of the larger and more famous transatlantic liners, coastal liners were popular in their own right. What they lacked in glamor they made up for in charm. In addition to paying passengers, many coastal liners also carried cargo as well. Dorchester, for example, had space for 3,300 tons of cargo. These little ships played an important role in the domestic maritime trade. 

When the United States entered World War II, liners were requisitioned for the war effort. The War Shipping Administration (WSA) took control of the SS Dorchester on January 24, 1942, and she entered military service just a few weeks later. She’d been converted into a troopship and given additional lifeboats and life rafts, as well as several guns for protection. A contingent of Navy Armed Guards were stationed aboard to operate these weapons. 

USAT Dorchester during World War II. Courtesy of the US Coast Guard.

Then the USAT Dorchester went to war. Like so many other ships, she wouldn’t survive World War II.

The Four Chaplains

Millions of Americans entered military service between 1941 and 1945. This included both of my grandfathers and a great uncle (who sailed to Europe aboard Queen Mary in January 1944). Non-combatant roles needed to be filled just as badly as frontline combat ones. Medics and doctors tended to the troops’ physical needs, chaplains of different faiths and denominations helped with their spiritual needs. 

Rabbi Alexander D. Goode, Reverend Clark V. Poling, Reverend George L. Fox, and Father John P. Washington. Courtesy of the US Dept. of Veterans Affairs.

The Four Chaplains were Father John P. Washington, Rabbi Alexander D. Goode, Reverend George L. Fox and Reverend Clark V. Poling. They all met at the Army Chaplains School and, despite their differences in faith and background, were united in their mission to serve others. This was evident in the early hours of February 3, 1943 after a torpedo ripped into the Dorchester’s starboard side.

The ship was plunged into darkness as its electrical systems were instantly knocked out. Panic set in immediately. Despite orders to sleep in their clothes and life jackets, many soldiers scrambled around in the darkness without either. The Four Chaplains remained calm throughout the pandemonium, however, and seemed to be everywhere at once according to survivors. They helped evacuate soldiers off the sinking Dorchester, with Father Washington giving absolution to men as they went over the side. Rabbi Goode gave his gloves to a man who’d lost his in the panic, saying that he had a second pair.

According to Private William B. Bednar, “I could hear men crying, pleading, praying. I could also hear the Four Chaplains preaching courage. Their voices were the only thing that kept me going.” This was likely the case for many others during the sinking as well.

Several survivors reported seeing the Four Chaplains linked arm-in-arm during the Dorchester’s final moments. It’s said that they prayed and sang hymns together until the sea swallowed them up. Some say they were singing together in English, Latin, and Hebrew.

A painting of the Four Chaplains’ final moments in the Immortal Chaplains Memorial Sanctuary. Courtesy of the Orange County Register.

According to Engineer Grady Clark:

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.

While remembering the chaplains’ acts that cold morning, survivor John Ladd said, “It was the finest thing I have seen or hope to see this side of heaven.”

The Dorchester sank in just 25 minutes. Her 230 survivors were picked up by the U.S. Coast Guard later that morning. They were the lucky ones: 674 were lost in the sinking. Among the dead were Father John P. Washington, Rabbi Alexander D. Goode, Reverend George L. Fox, and Reverend Clark V. Poling.  

Remembrance

The Four Chaplains’ sacrifice quickly captured America’s attention. Although many felt they should have each been awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions, they were instead awarded the Purple Heart and Distinguished Service Cross on December 19, 1944. Congress created the Four Chaplains’ Medal on July 14, 1960 and awarded it to each man’s next of kin. 

The statute awarding the Four Chaplains’ Medal states: 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President is authorized to award posthumously appropriate medals and certificates to Chaplain George L. Fox of Gilman, Vermont; Chaplain Alexander D. Goode of Washington, District of Columbia; Chaplain Clark V. Poling of Schenectady, New York; and Chaplain John P. Washington of Arlington, New Jersey, in recognition of the extraordinary heroism displayed by them when they sacrificed their lives in the sinking of the troop transport Dorchester in the North Atlantic in 1943 by giving up their life preservers to other men aboard such transport. The medals and certificates authorized by this Act shall be in such form and of such design as shall be prescribed by the President, and shall be awarded to such representatives of the aforementioned chaplains as the President may designate.

In 1988, Congress established February 3rd of each year as Four Chaplains Day. Adoniram Judson, a Baptist missionary once said, “there is no success without sacrifice. If you succeed without sacrifice, it is because someone has suffered before you. If you sacrifice without success, it is because someone will succeed after.”

Memorials to the Four Chaplains have been erected across the United States. For a time, there was even a memorial chapel aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. The Immortal Chaplains Memorial Sanctuary opened in 2005, and it was here that I heard this story for the first time. It’s stuck with me since then. 

The Immortal Chaplains Memorial Sanctuary aboard Queen Mary in 2013. Courtesy of the Orange County Register.

“They’re part of our American legacy, why America is a special nation,” David Fox, nephew of Reverend George L. Fox, said in 2013. “We are a melting pot. Those chaplains gave up their lives for men of different faiths. If they could die together, why can’t we live together?”

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