It was an icy dawn on Feb. 3, 1943. U.S.A.T. Dorchester was pressed into service as a troop transport, pushing through the North Atlantic waters with 902 American servicemen aboard bound for Greenland. A Nazi submarine sent a torpedo straight towards the ship's flank. Many died instantly. Others trapped below deck. On deck, amid the confusion and terror, four U.S. Army chaplains were moving about calming frightened men, directing bewildered soldiers to lifeboats and distributing life jackets with calm precision. The supply of life jackets was soon exhausted, but four young soldiers stood waiting. They were afraid and they had no jackets. Quickly the chaplains stripped off their own life jackets and forced them upon the young soldiers. 1st Lt. Clark V Poling and 1st Lt. George L Fox were both Protestant ministers. 1st Lt. John P. Washington was a Roman Catholic priest, and 1st Lt. Alexander D Goode was a Jewish rabbi. These four men of God, in a selfless act, had given away their only means of saving themselves in order to save others. Men rowing away from the stricken ship in lifeboats saw the four chaplains clinging to each other on the slanting deck. Their arms linked together and their heads bowed. They were praying to the one God who each of them loved and served, the God and Father of All Mankind. Dorchester sank beneath the icy waters of the North Atlantic, carrying with it the Four Chaplains and 668 soldiers and sailors.

1st LT George L Fox -> Rev. Thomas Walsh, Pastor; CenterPoint Church, Kings Park, LI, NY
1st LT Alexander D Goode -> Rabbi Jack Dermer; Temple Beth Torah, Westbury, LI, NY
1st LT Clark V Poling -> Rev. Robert Carrozzo, Assoc Pastor; CenterPoint Church, Bay Shore, LI, NY
1st LT John P Washington -> Fr Monson K Varghese, OIC; St Joseph's RC Church, Kings Park, LI, NY