American Minute with Bill Federer
USAT Dorchester
& Four Chaplains Day
|
|
On the frigid night of FEBRUARY 3, 1943, the overcrowded Allied ship
U.S.A.T. Dorchester,
carrying 902 servicemen, plowed through the dark waters near Greenland.
|
|
At 1:00am, a Nazi submarine fired a torpedo into the transport's flank, killing many in the explosion and trapping others below deck.
It sank in 27 minutes.
|
|
The two escort ships, Coast Guard cutters
Comanche
and
Escanaba,
were able to rescue only 231 survivors.
|
|
In the chaos of fire, smoke, oil and ammonia, four chaplains calmed sailors and distributed life jackets:
|
|
Lt. George L. Fox, Methodist;
|
|
Lt. Clark V. Poling, Dutch Reformed;
|
|
Lt. John P. Washington, Roman Catholic; and
|
|
Lt. Alexander D. Goode, Jewish.
|
|
When there were no more life jackets, the four chaplains ripped off their own and put them on four young men.
|
|
As the ship went down, survivors floating in rafts could see the four chaplains linking arms and bracing themselves on the slanting deck.
|
|
They bowed their heads in prayer as they sank to their icy deaths.
|
|
Survivor Grady Clark wrote:
"As I swam away from the ship, I looked back.
The flares had lighted everything. The bow came up high and she slid under.
The last thing I saw, the
Four Chaplains
were up there praying for the safety of the men. They had done everything they could. I did not see them again.
They themselves did not have a chance without their life jackets."
|
|
In 1998, Congress honored them by declaring February 3rd
"Four Chaplains Day.
|
|
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
acknowledged
Protestants, Catholics, and Jews
working together for liberty in his address at Madison Square Garden, October 28, 1940:
"Your government is working ... with representatives of
Catholic, Protestant,
and
Jewish faiths.
Without these three, all three of them ... things would not be as ... easy."
|
|
FDR
stated January 31, 1938:
"There has been definite progress towards a spiritual reawakening ... I receive evidences of this from all our
Protestant Churches;
I get it from
Catholic priests
and from
Jewish rabbis
as well."
|
|
FDR
stated December 6, 1933:
"Government guarantees to the
churches
--
Gentile and Jewish
-- the right to worship God in their own way."
|
|
In a Radio Address, November 4, 1940,
FDR
stated:
"Democracy is the birthright of
every citizen,
the
white
and the
colored;
the
Protestant,
the
Catholic,
the
Jew."
|
|
On February 7, 1954,
President Dwight Eisenhower
spoke from the White House for the American Legion 'Back-to-God' Program:
"And we remember that, only a decade ago, aboard the transport
Dorchester,
four chaplains
of four faiths together willingly sacrificed their lives so that four others might live ..."
|
|
Eisenhower
continued:
"Today as then, there is need for positive acts of renewed recognition that faith is our surest strength, our greatest resource.
This
'Back to God' movement
is such a positive act ...
Whatever our individual church, whatever our personal creed,
our common faith in God
is a common bond among us ...
Together we thank the Power that has made and preserved us a nation.
By the millions, we speak prayers, we sing hymns-and no matter what their words may be, their spirit is the same -
'In God is Our Trust.'"
|
|
Another inspiring story of a Christian risking his life to save soldiers was combat medic
Desmond Doss,
as portrayed in the award-winning film
Hacksaw Ridge
(2016).
|
|
Yet another inspiring story was that of
Chaplain William Thomas Cummings,
who served with the
U.S. Army
in the
Philippines
during
World War II.
He was captured by the Japanese and died when his unmarked prisoner ship was sunk sailing to Japan on January 18, 1945.
|
|
Earlier, while serving with the American troops during the
Battle of Bataan,
January 7 to April 9, 1942,
Chaplain Father Cummings
gave a stirring field sermon in which he declared:
"There are no atheists in the foxholes."
|
|
Eisenhower
repeated these words in his address February 7, 1954:
"As a former soldier, I am delighted that our veterans are sponsoring a movement to
increase our awareness of God in our daily lives.
In battle, they learned a great truth - that
there are no atheists in the foxholes.
They know that in time of test and trial,
we instinctively turn to God for new courage and peace of mind.
All the history of America bears witness to this truth ...
In the three centuries that separate the
Pilgrims
of the
Mayflower
from the
chaplains
of the
Dorchester,
America's freedom, her courage, her strength, and her progress have had
their foundation in faith."
|
|
American Minute is a registered trademark of William J. Federer. Permission is granted to forward, reprint, or duplicate, with acknowledgment.
|
|
Schedule Bill Federer for informative interviews & captivating PowerPoint presentations: 314-502-8924
wjfederer@gmail.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
