Page 12 - Sojourner Newsletter-Spring 2023 v.3

12 THE SOJOURNER
The Four Chaplains Remembered
Bro. William G.L. Turner, PNP, PNC, LOH

It was cold outside, but no surprise. It was The American Legion recognizes the Four
February 1943 on the North Atlantic. The SS Chaplains Day. Here in South Carolina, they know
Dorchester was steaming toward Greenland. It of the National Sojourners® and its Building The
was Friday, the 3rd, shortly after midnight, and Flag Program, where it specifically remembers
they were but a week out of New York. Four men these brave men in the soliloquy Old Glory
had found themselves with a common thread, an Speaks©. This year, my wife Patti and I asked to
attentive ear for those who needed someone to present the Building the Flag Program.
listen. They were of different faiths but with a
love of God. They were ~ George Fox, a
Methodist; Alexander Goode, a Jewish Rabbi;
John Washington, a Roman Catholic Priest; and
Clark Poling, a Dutch Reformed minister. These
men had met while at Harvard’s Army Chaplain
School, and following their studies, found
themselves awaiting orders to go to the European
theater, World War II was in full swing. The
orders came and off they went. They tightened
their bond of friendship and embraced the rest of
some 900 passengers and crew on the SS
Dorchester. But this cold Friday morning turned
sour very early. The impact alerted all on board,
the ship had been hit by a torpedo from the
German U-223 boat. Chaos prevailed, as everyone
ran for the protection of life vests and lifeboats.
There weren’t enough to go around. Fear ruled the
day. In time, however, a calming influence began
to take over as the Chaplains helped save people
and got them into boats and life vests. Each of the
Chaplains gave their life vests to passengers Pictured is the completed FLAG and the representatives of
without vests. They gave assurance to the fearful, the Four Chaplains’ faiths, as they closed this year’s
and as the end came near, they gathered together, ceremony singing God of Our Fathers and an image of the
locked their arms in unity, and began to pray and medal.
sing the praises of the Lord. The ocean soon
became calm, silence reigned, and there was no
one around. Among others, these brave men were
awarded the Distinguished Service Medal and the
Purple Heart. They were each nominated for the
Medal of Honor, which was disapproved because
they had not engaged in combat with the enemy, a
requirement for the Medal of Honor. Congress
made the record well by creating and awarding
them posthumously the “Four Chaplains Medal”
also known as the “Chaplains Medal of Honor. It
carries the same weight and level of significance as
the Medal of Honor. To this date, no other person
has been awarded the Four Chaplains Medal.