b'NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE, continuedNo Greater Glory: The Four Chaplains and the Sinking of the USAT Dorchester by: State Secretary Jim CliffordIn the early morning hours of 3 February 1943, First Sergeantsimilar experiences brought them together on the deck of the Michael Warish nearly gave up hope as he floated helplesslyDorchester.Each was tested at a young age and came to the in the freezing waters of the North Atlantic.Just minutes earli- realization that his would be a life of service to God and man. er, he and the almost 900 others aboard the USAT DorchesterJohn P. Washington, born in Newark, New Jersey, on 18 July were near safe waters when a German torpedo slammed into1908, was eldest of seven children.He was the product tough the engine room.Soon, the Dorchester began to slip under theof Irish neighborhoods, where he almost lost his sight to a BB waves. gun accident, nearly died JohnP.Washingtonof fever, and then lost his wasordainedaRomansisterMarytoasudden Catholic priest on 15 Juneillness.By the age of sev-1935andenteredtheen, John was on the path ArmyinMay1942aftertothepriesthood.After being rejected by the NavyattendingCatholicele-shortly after the Japanesementary and high schools, attack Pearl Harbor. (U.S.he entered the seminary in Army Chaplain Museum) Darlington,NewJersey, Warishacceptedhisandwasordainedon15 fate,fullyawarethatlifeJune 1935.expectancy in these coldAfter short stints in two waters was about twentyparishes,hemovedto minutes.SurroundedbySt.StephensinArling-hundredsofhisequallyton,NewJersey.Father doomedshipmates,theWashingtonwasinitially blinking red lights of theirturned down by the Navy lifepreserversremindedafterPearlHarborbe-him of Christmas lights.Other than a burning sensation in hiscause of his poor eyesight.Disappointed but not defeated, throat from swallowing oil-fouled salt water and some minorWashington went to the Army.This time, when it came to the pain from wounds suffered when the torpedo hit, he mostly felteye test, he covered up his bad eye both times when reading numb. the eye chart, correctly assuming that the doctors would be too Resignedtolosingconsciousnessandfreezingtodeathbusy to pay much attention.He hoped that God would forgive shortly thereafter, his thoughts turned to the courageous andhis subterfuge.selfless acts of the four Army chaplains he witnessed just be-Alexander D. Goode, a native of Washington, DC, followed in fore abandoning ship.These four chaplains, according to War- his fathers footsteps and became a rabbi in 1937. Like Chap-ish and other eyewitnesses, remained calm during the paniclain Washington, he originally wanted to serve as a Navy chap-following the attack, first distributing life preservers and assist- lain but was rejected. (U.S. Army Chaplain Museum)ing others to abandon ship, then giving up their own life pre- In May 1942 Father Washington left for training at Fort Ben-servers and coming together in prayer as the ship disappearedjamin Harrison, Indiana.After a month, he was posted to Fort beneath the surface. George G. Meade, Maryland.Eager to serve overseas, he ap-The story of these four chaplains, a Catholic, a Jew, and twoplied for a transfer.In a letter to Army Headquarters dated 23 Protestants, stands out among the countless stories of com- September 1942, he wrote, Once more may I ask you to con-mitment and bravery that make up the pantheon of the U.S.sider my application for overseas duty.If I am being too fresh in Army, as one of the finest examples of courage to God, man,requesting it, then slap me down.The requests finally worked and country.Each, John P. Washington, Alexander D. Goode,when, in November 1942, he was transferred to Camp Myles George L. Fox, and Clarke V. Poling, was drawn by the tragedyStandish in Taunton, Massachusetts, to await overseas deploy-at Pearl Harbor to the armed forces.Each wanted more thanment.There he met fellow Chaplains Fox, Goode, and Poling.anything else to serve God by ministering to men on the bat- Alexander D. Goode was born on 10 May 1911, the son of a tlefield.Each felt great disappointment at being relegated torabbi.When he was young, his parents divorced.He went to service in a rear area, in this case the airfields and installationsEastern High School in Washington, DC, where he earned med-of Greenland.Yet, each, when the moment came, did not hes- als in tennis, swimming, and track, and was an excellent stu-itate to put others before self, courageously offering a tenuousdent.From his earliest days, he planned to follow in his fathers chance of survival with the full knowledge of the consequences. footsteps as a rabbi.He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree Though the chaplains had vastly different backgrounds, theirfrom the University of Cincinnati in 1934, followed by a degree 98'