Four Chaplains

Jesus once said, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends," John 15:13. I am not trying to get religious, but this is the expected principle to live by when you serve as a chaplain in the military. Of course, that principle is much easier said than done. Nevertheless, four Army chaplains once displayed this kind of love and courage during the days of WWII, so today I would like to recall their story.

The SS Dorchester had been requisitioned as a troop carrier during the Second World War. While enroute to Greenland with almost 900 troops aboard and nearing safe waters, a German U-boat successfully shot a torpedo into the engine room of the SS Dorchester in the early morning hours of February 3, 1943. Life expectancy in such frigid waters has been estimated at only 20 minutes.

Four Army chaplains who had been relegated to serve at the airfields and installations in Greenland never hesitated to put the lives of their countrymen ahead of their own. These four chaplains sacrificed their own chances of survival in order to help their fellow soldiers escape. These four chaplains distributed life preservers and helped others abandon ship. When they finally ran out of life preservers, they gave up their own and then huddled together in prayer as the ship sank and disappeared under the cold waters of the northern Atlantic Ocean. So, who were these brave men who so unselfishly sacrificed their lives that day?

The first was John P. Washington of Newark, New Jersey. Fr. Washington had been ordained as a Catholic priest on June 15, 1935, and was serving in parish ministry when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. When Washington tried to enlist in the Navy, he was denied due to poor eyesight in one eye. So, he decided to try the Army. This time he covered up his bad eye both times while reading the eye chart and the doctors were too busy to notice.

Alexander D. Goode of Washington, D.C. wanted to follow in his father's footsteps by becoming a rabbi. After completing his bachelor's degree at the University of Cincinnati, he became a penniless student during the Great Depression and nearly quit his studies at Hebrew Union College, but managed to graduate in 1937. He, too, had been rejected by the Navy, but was picked up by the Army after Pearl Harbor.

George L. Fox of Lewiston, Pennsylvania had previously served as a medic in World War I, where his gallant service had already earned him a silver star and several purple hearts. Fox had worked as an evangelist before entering Moody Bible Institute in 1923. He sought further education at Wesleyan University and Boston University's School of Theology until he was finally ordained as a Methodist minister on June 10, 1934. The events at Pearl Harbor, however, had drawn Fox back into active duty at the age of 42. When Fox died that day aboard the SS Dorchester he left behind a wife, a son, and a seven-year-old daughter.

Clark V. Poling of Columbus, Ohio was destined to follow his father, who had been a prominent radio evangelist and religious newspaper editor, by extending his family's line of six generations of Christian ministers. After graduating from Yale Divinity School, he became an ordained minister in the Reformed Church of America. His father, Dr. Daniel A. Poling, had warned his son not to enlist due to the high casualty rate of chaplains in WWI. Against his father's advice, the younger Clark decided to serve his country anyway, realizing that God was ultimately in control of his life.

I share the stories of these four chaplains with you today because they were real people and to remind you about the tremendous cost of war, the bravery of our fallen heroes, and the love of God and country which marks the souls of so many who have gone before us in order to secure our freedoms. This Memorial Day please remember that in military service all gave some, but some gave all.