The Four Chaplains: Lieutenant George Fox, Lieutenant Alexander D. Goode, Lieutenant Clark V. Poling, and Lieutenant John P. Washington
![Escanaba Dorchester rescue](http://www.ststeve.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Escanaba-Dorchester-rescue-300x204.jpg)
Coast Guard Cutter USCGC Escanaba rescues Dorchester survivors,
by an unattributed Coast Guard artist. From Wikipedia.
Four Chaplains Day, February 3rd, commemorates the sacrifice of the four U.S. Army chaplains aboard the SS Dorchester, which was sunk by a German submarine in the Atlantic in 1943. The chaplains, all lieutenants, included a Methodist pastor, a Jewish rabbi, a Roman Catholic priest, and a Reformed Church in America minister. They calmed frightened soldiers and sailors, aided in the evacuation of the ship, and helped guide wounded men to safety. They finally gave up their own life jackets when supplies ran out. Written at the request of one of the priests of the parish, who has a mission to a group of World War II reënactors.