The Four Chaplains of the USAT Dorchester

The ocean was black and cold on the night of February 3, 1943. The troopship Dorchester was carrying hundreds of young American soldiers across the North Atlantic, heading toward the war in Europe. Many of the men were nervous. Some could not sleep. Four chaplains walked the decks that night, offering quiet words of comfort. There was George Fox, a Methodist minister. John Washington, a Catholic priest. Clark Poling, a Reformed Church pastor. And Alexander Goode, a Jewish rabbi. Four men from different faiths, but one shared purpose: to serve. Then, just after midnight, a German torpedo struck the ship. The Dorchester shuddered. Alarms screamed. Men scrambled in the dark, terrified and confused. The ship began to sink fast. The four chaplains rushed to the life jacket storage room. They tore open crates and pressed jackets into every pair of hands they could find. When the crates ran empty, each chaplain unbuckled his own life jacket and gave it away. Soldiers watching from lifeboats could not believe what they saw. The four men stood together at the railing as icy water rose around them. They were arm in arm. A Methodist, a Catholic, a Protestant, and a Jew — praying together in their final moments, each in his own way, all lifted to the same God. Two hundred and thirty men survived that night. They survived because four men chose others before themselves. Congress later created a special medal just for the four chaplains. But the soldiers who saw them already knew what they were. They were men of God. They were Americans. And they showed the world that faith and courage have no single face. Sometimes the bravest thing anyone can do is give away the very last thing they have.