Photo By Michael Strasser | The story of The Four Chaplains resonates among members of the U.S. Army Chaplains...... read more read more
FORT DRUM, N.Y. (Feb. 4, 2025) -- Four Chaplains Day is a day of remembrance for a team of Army chaplains who sacrificed their lives to save hundreds during World War II.
First Lt. Clark V. Poling (Dutch Reformed Church of America); 1st Lt. Alexander D. Goode (Jewish); 1st Lt. John P. Washington (Catholic); and 1st Lt. George L. Fox (Methodist) set sail from New York aboard the Dorchester with roughly 900 service members, contractors, and engineers on Jan. 22, 1943.
The Dorchester, a converted luxury liner not designed for transporting troops and equipment in harsh conditions, was heading to southwest Greenland where military personnel were to maintain and improve two airfields.
On Feb. 3, at 12:55 a.m., a German submarine torpedoed the Dorchester, immediately killing dozens trapped below deck and created panic among the men shrouded in darkness when the ship’s electrical system went down.
Many of the service members were terrified and relied on the chaplains to pull the life jackets over their heads and guide them to the ropes so they could descend into a nearby boat or raft which were quickly becoming overcrowded.
When the supply of life jackets ran out, the chaplains gave up their own and then prayed for the safety of the men while the ship sank. Of the 904 men aboard, 230 survived.
More than 80 years later, this is a story that still resonates among members of the Army Chaplain Corps for its message of fellowship, spiritual readiness and selfless service.
“I first learned about the Four Chaplains when I entered the Chaplains Corps,” said Chaplain (Capt.) Dan Kamzan, 10th Mountain Division (LI) Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion chaplain and rabbi for the post missionary team. “Their story is one of the most powerful examples of selfless service, faith, and unity in our history. It’s not just a story that’s told once and forgotten – it comes up regularly, especially when we talk about what it means to be a chaplain in a diverse and pluralistic Army.
"Their example is a guiding light for those of us who serve today, reminding us of the sacred responsibility we carry," he added.
Chaplain (Maj.) Tanya Bindernagel, Fort Drum chaplain resource manager and community chaplain, first learned The Four Chaplains story during her advanced individual training as a chaplain’s assistant. Bindernagel said it was an impactful lesson that was reinforced when she became a chaplain.
“It’s a story told often enough that I would be surprised if any chaplain doesn’t know about it,” she said. “For me, the story is the same as when I first heard it. But the longer I’ve been in the Chaplain Corps, I think it has become much more meaningful to me.”
Early in her career, Bindernagel said she remembered it as a story of remarkable teamwork and sacrifice, but she has come to appreciate its deeper message of service.
“The story embodies what we are supposed to be as chaplains,” she said. “We put our differences aside and not let that be a barrier to what the person in front of us needs.”
The four chaplains bonded at the Harvard Chaplain School, where their interfaith fellowship grew as they studied and prayed together.
“At the beginning, you are thrown together with people from all different religions,” Bindernagel said. “But you soon realize we can all learn from each other, and there’s a lot of strength and benefit from that. We may have differences, but we discover how much more we have in common.”
Kamzan said that many people enter the Chaplain Corps with a deep connection to their own faith tradition, but not always a broad understanding of others.
“However, once we step into this role, we quickly learn that we are part of something greater,” he said. “A team of chaplains from diverse backgrounds, all working toward the same mission: to care for Soldiers, regardless of their beliefs. The friendships and collaborations I’ve built with chaplains of different faiths have been some of the most rewarding relationships of my life.”
On board the Dorchester, there were natural divisions among the men – enlisted and officers didn’t fraternize, and it was difficult for Soldiers to relate to members of different services or the civilians on board. And yet service members were indiscriminate about which chaplain they sought for counsel.
“Building those relationships with people from the very beginning is an important part of the job,” Bindernagel said. “If you don’t have that trust and credibility when the crisis hits, then it’s going to be a really difficult path forward.”
The four chaplains held regular services for the passengers and crew, and they organized a party to improve troop morale the night before the submarine attack. Bindernagel said being “party planners” is not in the job description of a chaplain, but they understand the long-term, positive effects it produces.
“It may seem silly for a chaplain to be hosting a party but in the context of building relationships, that’s huge,” she said. “That Soldier who was laughing and joking at the event is going to find it easier to go back and see that chaplain about a particular situation they have.”
In the book, “No Greater Glory: The four Immortal Chaplains and the Sinking of the Dorchester in World War II” by Dan Kurzman, survivors recalled many of the interactions they had with the chaplains before and during the bombing of the Dorchester.
In one instance during the evacuation, a Navy lieutenant had forgotten his gloves in his cabin and was about to recover them. He was stopped by a chaplain, who pulled off his own gloves and told the young officer that he had another pair (which he did not).
That act of kindness would seem pale in comparison to when the chaplain later gave his life jacket to another service member, knowing it forfeited his own chance for survival.
Bindernagel said the chaplains probably wouldn’t have registered this as selflessness or heroism.
“I think inherently what chaplains do is outward focused,” she said. “It tends to be all we do, thinking about the needs of others and how we can help people. So, I’m not sure those chaplains had to deliberately think that about the consequences of their actions. From my own experience, if I see somebody in distress or suffering, I’m not thinking about what I had to do or where I was going. My attention is on that person.”
Survivor accounts corroborate what has been called an immortal symbol of fellowship – that as the Dorchester lurched deeper into the ocean, they could see the four chaplains with arms linked and hear them praying.
On Dec. 19, 1944, the four chaplains posthumously received the Purple Heart and the Distinguished Service Cross. In 1948, Congress designated Feb. 3 as “Four Chaplains Day.”
“I hope that on this day, people take a moment to reflect on what it truly means to serve,” Kamzan said. “Not just in uniform, but in life. Service is not about recognition or reward. It’s about seeing the person next to you, recognizing their need, and acting – not because you have to, but because your heart compels you to.”
While reflecting on the service and sacrifice of Chaplains Poling, Goode, Washington and Fox, Kamzan wrote this poem.
“Four stood strong as waters rose,
Faith unshaken, hearts exposed.
Not for self, but for the rest,
They gave their all, their very best.
No creed divided, no fear restrained,
With hands held tight, their souls remained.
Not lost to sea, not lost to time,
But ever bright—a light divine.”
“May their example remind us that true service is not measured in medals or titles, but in the willingness to give of ourselves, to love beyond boundaries, and, if the moment calls for it, to offer up our own life jacket for another,” Kamzan said.
(Editor's Note: This article cites historical information available at www.armyhistory.org and in the book “No Greater Glory: The Four Immortal Chaplains and the Sinking of the Dorchester in World War II by Dan Kurzman.)
| Date Taken: | 02.04.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 02.04.2025 10:20 |
| Story ID: | 490047 |
| Location: | FORT DRUM, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 25 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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