The Catholic Patriotic Minute #31: The Four Chaplains
Catholics For Catholics Special Edition | February 2nd, 2026
The Four Chaplains: Heroes at the Sinking of the U.S.A.T. Dorchester
After Germany occupied Denmark in April of 1940, the Danish Minister to the United States signed an agreement a year later allowing the United States to use Greenland as a position of defense for the duration of the Second World War. Filled with 902 U.S. service men, officers, and workers, the U.S.A.T. Dorchester departed from New York Harbor on January 23, 1943, with Greenland as its destination.
But, the Dorchester would not make it to Greenland. At 12:55 a.m. on February 3, 1943, a German torpedo hit the steamship, and in less than twenty minutes, 672 men died. However, many of those who died or survived were comforted or assisted respectively by the four chaplains on board. The four chaplains–Lieutenants George L. Fox, Alexander D. Goode, Clark V. Poling, and John P. Washington– were heroes. Their actions were not only recounted by the survivors but are still remembered today, especially on February 3, known as “Four Chaplains Day” or “National Chaplains Day.”
George Fox, a Methodist minister, was the oldest of the four chaplains. During the First World War, seventeen-year-old George had lied about his age so that he could join the Marine Corps. When the United States entered the Second World War, Fox felt called to join the military a second time. He explained to his wife, “I’ve got to go. I know from experience what our boys are about to face. They need me.”
The youngest of the four chaplains was Clark Poling, a Dutch Reformed pastor. Poling was eager to enlist in the military but considered joining as a chaplain to be cowardly. Yet, his view of chaplains was renewed when his father pointed out that chaplains face death without a weapon. Before his active duty, Poling appealed to his father for prayers, specifically “not for my safe return, that wouldn’t be fair. I just pray that I shall do my duty … never be a coward … and have the strength, courage and understanding of men. Just pray that I shall be adequate.”
The chaplain Alexander Goode was a Jewish rabbi. His childhood was forever marked by the return of the body of the Unknown Soldier to Arlington National Cemetery when he was ten years old. In high school, he served in the National Guard and maintained his membership thereafter. His awareness of the Nazi efforts in Europe led to Goode applying for a chaplaincy even before Pearl Harbor.
John Washington was the only Catholic chaplain on board the Dorchester. Born on July 18, 1908, in Newark, New Jersey, John was raised one of seven children in an Irish family. As a kid, John delighted in sports and music. He was an altar boy. As a seventh-grade student, he felt called to the priesthood. On June 15, 1935, Father John Washington was assigned to three parishes, the last one being Saint Stephen’s in Kearny, New Jersey, before the attack at Pearl Harbor. Soon after, he enlisted in the Army as a chaplain. Washington met Lieutenants Fox, Poling, and Goode at Chaplain School at Harvard in November of 1942. Together, they boarded the Dorchester in January 1943.
On the evening of February 2, 1943, captain of the Dorchester—Hans J. Danielsen–was alert. They were about 150 miles away from Greenland, and the Coast Guard Cutters Tampa, Escanaba, and Comanche were following the Dorchester for protection. But, they were in “Torpedo Junction,” where German submarines inhabited the waters north of Newfoundland.
Danielsen commanded the other 901 men aboard, “Every soldier is ordered to sleep in his clothes and life jacket. Repeat, this is an order! We have a submarine following us…If we make it through the night, in the morning we will have air protection from Blue West One, which is the code name for the air base in Greenland, and of course, we will have protection until we reach port.” However, most men brushed his command aside.
Father Washington offered Mass at 6 p.m. Before midnight, along with his fellow chaplains, he hosted a party for all the men to distract them from worrying about the possibility of German torpedoes hitting their ship. Father Washington played the piano, and they all sang together. Most men had returned to their cabins before the German submarine U-223 discovered the Dorchester. A German torpedo hit the starboard, immediately killing dozens. The hit cut off the power, so there was a delay in the Coast Guard Cutters noticing the hit.
Because most men ignored the Captain‘s command, chaos ensued when they were all searching for life jackets and warm clothes to wear. The steamship was tilted drastically. Yet, four of these hundreds of men remained calm. The chaplains helped men search for life jackets as they were all waiting for lifeboats from the Coast Guard cutters. Father Washington administered absolution to soldiers. The chaplains gave out their own lifejackets and warm clothes. Private William B. Bednar later remembered, “I could hear men crying, pleading, praying. . . I could also hear the chaplains preaching courage. Their voices were the only thing that kept me going.”
230 survivors successfully escaped the sinking ship in under twenty minutes largely due to the bravery of these four chaplains. Many would never forget the sight of the chaplains still on board the sinking ship right before it was fully submerged in the Atlantic Ocean. Multiple witnesses recount that the chaplains stood together and prayed until their last breath. One eyewitness–Grady Clark–stated, “As I swam away from the ship, I looked back. … 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.” Another survivor, John Ladd, declared,“It was the finest thing I have seen or hope to see this side of heaven.”
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