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The American Legion, Legionnaires of Lewis County to Host
Four Chaplains Service February 1st in Croghan
Published: January 30, 2026
at 12:00 p.m.
By: Press Release from The American Legion,
Legionnaires of Lewis County
The American Legion, Legionnaires of Lewis County to
host Four Chaplains Service
Open to the Public
The American
Legion, Legionnaires of Lewis County, will host the Four Chaplains Service
on Sunday, February 1st, at 12:30, at the Croghan American
Legion. The Public is invited and encouraged to attend this brief, solemn
event. We also encourage area churches to mention this during their
Sunday morning services.
American Legion
posts nationwide observe Four Chaplains Day with annual memorial services. Refreshments
will be served following the service.
In 1943, four
young Army chaplains joined 900 raw recruits headed for battle in
Nazi-occupied Europe on the U.S.A.T. Dorchester. During the voyage, a
German submarine torpedo ripped through the ship's hull, which began to
descend rapidly into the freezing waters of the North Atlantic. In the
frantic scramble for lifeboats, four chaplains on board—a Catholic priest,
a Jewish rabbi, and two Protestant ministers—directed many soldiers to
safety. When the life vest supply ran out, they selflessly removed their own
and gave them to the soldiers, knowing they could not survive without the
flotation devices. They spent their last moments singing hymns and praying,
arm-in-arm, as the ship disappeared beneath the waves. (www.fourchaplains.org )
The American
Legion is located at 9833 Main St Croghan, NY. Call 346-6414
XXX
ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION:
On Feb. 3, 1943,
the United States Army Transport Dorchester – a converted luxury liner –
was crossing the North Atlantic, transporting more than 900 troops to an
American base in Greenland. Aboard the ship were four chaplains of
different faiths: Reverend George Fox (Methodist), Jewish Rabbi Alexander
Goode, Reverend Clark Poling (Dutch Reformed), and Father John Washington
(Roman Catholic).
Around 12:55
a.m., a German U-boat fired a torpedo that struck Dorchester’s starboard
side, below the water line and near the engine room. The explosion
instantly killed 100 men and knocked out power and radio communication with
Dorchester’s three escort ships. Within 20 minutes, the transport sank, and
more than 670 men died.
The four
chaplains spread out as soldiers rushed to lifeboats, comforting the
wounded and directing others to safety. One survivor, Private William
Bednar, later said, “I could hear men crying, pleading, praying. But I
could also hear the chaplains preaching courage. Their voices were the only
thing that kept me going.”
Another survivor,
John Ladd, watched the chaplains’ distribute life
jackets, and when they ran out, they removed theirs and gave them to four
young men. “It was the finest thing I have seen, or hope to see, this side
of heaven,” he recalled.
As Dorchester
sank, the chaplains were seen linked arm in arm, praying.
Fox, Goode,
Poling, and Washington were posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service
Cross and the Purple Heart, and in 1948, Congress declared Feb. 3 to be
Four Chaplains Day. The four chaplains were also honored with a U.S.
postage stamp that year.
Because of the
Medal of Honor’s strict requirements of heroism under fire, Congress
authorized a one-time Chaplain’s Medal for Heroism on July 14, 1960. The
award was presented to the chaplains’ next of kin on Jan. 18, 1961.
On Feb. 3, 1951,
President Truman dedicated a chapel in the chaplains’ honor at Grace
Baptist Church in Philadelphia. However, when the building was sold, the
chapel fell into disrepair, and the foundation overseeing the chapel moved
it to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in 2001. The chapel was repaired in
2004 and given the name Chapel of the Four Chaplains.
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