Four Chaplains Memorial
 | Author:
Matt Nelson
MT43 News Correspondent |
Four Chaplains Memorial Matt Nelson On Saturday, February 4th there was a memorial service at the Trailhead Christian Fellowship Church for four Chaplains who gave up their lives saving others whose ship had been torpedoed eighty years ago on February 3, 1943, during World War 2. The Chaplains were Lt. Clark V. Poling, a Dutch Reformed Minister; Lt. George L. Fox, a Methodist Minister; Lt. Alexander D. Goode, a Jewish Rabbi; and Chaplain John P. Washington, a Roman Catholic Priest. They were on the U.S. Army Transport Ship Dorchester. Besides praying and encouraging the other men on the ship, many of whom were already in the ocean, they each gave their own life jackets away so that others might live. More detailed information may be found on this website: http://fourchaplains.org/four-chaplains/#
Following the presentation of the Colors by a Post 42 honor guard, and the Star Spangled Banner, the Unit 42 Auxiliary Chaplain, Judy Lund, gave the welcome, the opening prayer, and the Benediction. She said that it didn’t matter to the Chaplains what religion the drowning men had, it was important to save who they could. Larry Westfall is the Post Chaplain. He talked in depth about the torpedo incident and gave a brief introduction about each of the four Chaplains.
Air Force Colonel Jen Dalrymple. from the Legion Post 42 read part of Chaplain Poling’s biography: “Chaplain Poling, according to his family, said to his father before going off into wartime chaplaincy: ‘Dad, don’t pray for my safe return. Just pray that I shall do my duty, and something more: pray that I shall never be a coward. Pray that I shall have the strength and courage and understanding of men, and especially pray that I shall be patient. Oh Dad, just prays that I shall be adequate.’ Once in active chaplaincy, Poling urged those around him not to hate the individual Germans and Japanese against whom they fought. ‘Hate the system that made your brother evil. It is the system we must destroy,’ he would say.”
Reverend MSgt Esther Suhr from Legion Post 42 read part of Chaplain Fox’s biography: “George Fox was the eldest of the four chaplains and already knew war better than the others. He’d lied about his age to become a medical corps assistant and ambulance driver in WWI. In that setting he’d already demonstrated personal heroism, having braved a battlefield drenched in the dreaded gases that made WWI warfare especially horrible. He did it to rescue a wounded soldier, even though he himself had no gas mask. Fox had become a minister after a career as an accountant, studying for the ministry at Moody Bible Institute and Boston University School of Theology. WWII attracted him to chaplaincy, and toward that goal, he studied at Harvard University. There he made friends with Rabbi Alex Goode, who also became one of the four chaplains on the Dorchester.”
Army Veteran, Tony Wagner, from Legion Post 42 read part of Chaplain Goode’s biography: “Alexander Goode, like Fox, had felt led to become a chaplain due to the outbreak of WWII. So determined was he to be stationed where his work would have the most impact, he shrugged off a safe stateside military base assignment and pulled strings to have himself sent overseas. Goode’s first rabbinical appointment had been in York, Pennsylvania. A man of wide-ranging interests, willingness to work hard, and an interest in interfaith cooperation, he joined the YMCA despite that organization’s Christian roots and also worked against segregation and bias in public education. He even studied medicine to expand his capacity to help others. An outstanding man by any analysis.”
Father Cody Williams from the Holy Cross Church in Townsend read part of Chaplain Washington's biography: “Born into a poor immigrant family, John P. Washington took a newspaper route to help support his family. He loved music and sang in the church choir. In seventh grade, he sensed a call to the priesthood. Washington attended Immaculate Conception Seminary in Darlington, N.J., where he was ordained a priest in 1935. Shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack, he received his appointment as an Army chaplain. In June 1942, he was assigned to the 76th Infantry Division at Fort Meade, Md. In November 1942, he reported to Camp Myles Standish in Taunton, Mass., where he was reunited with Fox, Goode, and Poling – his classmates at Chaplains School at Harvard.”
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PhotoCredit: Matt Nelson
Image 1 Caption: Colonel Jen Dalrymple, Reverend Master Sergeant Esther Suhr, Veteran Tony Wagner, and Father Cody Williams
Image 2 Caption: Townsend American Legion Unit 42 Auxiliary Chaplain Judy Lund and Post 42 Chaplain Larry Westfall.
