Naked Man Moleskin

It was the evening of Feb. 2, 1943, and the U.S.A.T. Dorchester was crowded to capacity, carrying 902 service men, merchant seamen and civilian workers. Once a luxury coastal liner, the 5,649-ton vessel had been converted into an Army transport ship. The Dorchester, one of three ships in the SG-19 convoy, was moving steadily across the icy waters from Newfoundland toward an American base in Greenland. SG-19 was escorted by Coast Guard Cutters Tampa, Escanaba and Comanche.

The Dorchester was now only 150 miles from its destination, but the captain ordered the men to sleep in their clothing and keep life jackets on. Many soldiers sleeping deep in the ship’s hold disregarded the order because of the engine’s heat. Others ignored it because the life jackets were uncomfortable

On Feb. 3, at 12:55 a.m., a periscope broke the chilly Atlantic waters. Through the cross hairs, an officer aboard the German submarine U-223 spotted the Dorchester. The U-223 approached the convoy on the surface, and after identifying and targeting the ship, he gave orders to fire the torpedoes, a fan of three were fired. The one that hit was decisive–and deadly–striking the starboard side, amid ship, far below the water line.

Captain Danielsen, alerted that the Dorchester was taking water rapidly and sinking, gave the order to abandon ship. In less than 20 minutes, the Dorchester would slip beneath the Atlantic’s icy waters.

Through the pandemonium, according to those present, four Army chaplains brought hope in despair and light in darkness. Those chaplains were Lt. George L. Fox, Methodist; Lt. Alexander D. Goode, Jewish; Lt. John P. Washington, Roman Catholic; and Lt. Clark V. Poling, Dutch Reformed. Quickly and quietly, the four chaplains spread out among the soldiers. There they tried to calm the frightened, tend the wounded and guide the disoriented toward safety. “Witnesses of that terrible night remember hearing the four men offer prayers for the dying and encouragement for those who would live,” says Wyatt R. Fox, son of Reverend Fox. One witness, Private William B. Bednar, found himself floating in oil-smeared water surrounded by dead bodies and debris. “I could hear men crying, pleading, praying,” Bednar recalls. “I could also hear the chaplains preaching courage. Their voices were the only thing that kept me going.” By this time, most of the men were topside, and 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 lifejackets in the storage room, the chaplains removed theirs and gave them to four frightened young men. “It was the finest thing I have seen or hope to see this side of heaven,” said John Ladd, another survivor who saw the chaplains’ selfless act. 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.

“Valor is a gift,” Carl Sandburg once said. “Those having it never know for sure whether they have it until the test comes.” That night Reverend Fox, Rabbi Goode, Reverend Poling and Father Washington passed life’s ultimate test. In doing so, they became an enduring example of extraordinary faith, courage and selflessness.

The Four Chaplains Memorial Foundations mission is to tell the story of the “Four Chaplains” to promote Interfaith Cooperation and Selfless Service in individuals and organizations. The mission of the Corporation is to encourage selfless service in the tradition of The Four Chaplains and to teach and promote interfaith understanding and cooperation among all peoples. Accordingly, the motto of the Corporation is “Unity without Uniformity.”

I believe that the actions of the Four Chaplains also demonstrate understanding and cooperation beyond interfaith beliefs. There is no doubt that the people that were on the Dorchester had diverse political views and backgrounds. In a time of crisis, the Four Chaplains threw out all of those things that divide people and focused on saving lives and supporting people. It shouldn’t take a crisis for these things to happen, but it often does. Let’s make sure that we are doing our part to understand all people of different backgrounds, races, religious beliefs and other things that divide us to make this a better United States.

• There were 902 service men aboard the U.S.A.T. Dorchester
• 672 lost their lives (The reason for 672 reps in Thang 1)
• 4 chaplains (The reason for 4 rounds in Thang 1)
• 230 survivors (The reason for 2 rounds and 30 reps in Thang 2 and the 230 foot run)
• The convoy was getting close to 90 miles from Greenland – At that point they would have air cover from “Blue West One” (airbase in Greenland) (The reason for 90 reps in Mary)
• U-233 German U-Boat fire torpedoes about 1,000 yards out (The reason for the 1,000 foot run around the lot)

Most of the above in italics is from http://fourchaplains.org/