b'U. S. Coast Guard cutters USCGC Tampa, USCGC Escana- weatherthatnecessitatedcancellingthetalentshow,there ba, and USCGC Comanche comprised convoy SG 19.Itswould be little sleeping on the Dorchester that night.The weath-passengers included 597 soldiers and 171 civilians bound forer abated enough within a few hours that the chaplains quick-airbases in Greenland.In its holds were one thousand tons ofly threw together an impromptu party in the main mess area. equipment, food, and cargo.Merchant Marine Captain HansMany of the soldiers attended, remaining until about 2330.First Danielsen skippered the ship while Army Captain Preston S.Sergeant Warish skipped the party, choosing instead to share Krecker, Jr., commanded the troops.First Sergeant Warishthe hardship of soldiers assigned to lookout positions out on was the senior noncommissioned offi- the open deck in the thirty-six-degree cer aboard. weather. After the Dorchester slipped beneath The Chaplains Medal for Heroism, the waves on 3 February 1943, the US- alsocalledtheChaplainsMedalof CGC Escanaba and other Coast GuardHonorandtheFourChaplainsMed-vesselsrescueddozensofsurvivorsal,authorizedbyCongressin1960, from the doomed Army troopship. (U.S.commemorates the actions of the Four Coast Guard History Office) Chaplains. The medal was presented Warish, as the ships first sergeant,to the Four Chaplains next of kin on 18 warrantedastateroom.AshewasJanuary 1961 at Fort Myer, Virginia, by settling in, Father Washington, his nextSecretary of the Army Wilber M. Bruck-door neighbor, paid him a visit.As a lapsed Catholic, he waser. (U.S. Army Chaplain Museum)ambivalent about making the acquaintance of the priest butThe chaplains bid good night to the men by reminding them recognized the value of having chaplains on board during theof Captain Danielsens warning about wearing all their clothes, perilous voyage.After exchanging small talk, Warish excusedincluding boots and gloves, along with life jackets to bed.After himself to inspect the ship. the party, three of the chaplains made the rounds of the ship in While on his rounds, he observed the chaplains in a footballan attempt to raise mens spirits.Meanwhile, Father Washing-huddle engaged in an animated discussion.Seeing Warish,ton said mass in the mess area that was attended by men of theyaskedforhishelpingettingmany faiths.themessageoutaboutreligiousEarlier that night, Captain Krecker services and plans for an amateurhad called his men together in the talentcontest,whichtheyhopedhold.HerepeatedCaptainDan-wouldserveasausefuldiversionielsensearlierwarning.Thiswill for the troops who had nothing tobe the most dangerous part of our doexceptworrywhiletransitingmission, he said.Were coming through Torpedo Junction, as thethroughthestormandnowwere stretchofdangerouswaterswasin calm waters.And they can really known. spot us out here.He finished with Despiteheavysecurity,therethe admonition to wear life jackets, were few secrets in St. Johns.Ger- telling the men that they were not in man authorities had become awarea beauty contest.that convoy SG-19 was bound forAstheclocktickedpastmid-Greenland, so four U-Boats took up stations along its route.night, many began to breathe easier with the knowledge that One of those was U-233, on her maiden voyage, command- they were near safe waters and would soon be under an um-edbytwenty-six-year-oldLieutenantCommanderKarl-Jrgbrella of protection from Greenland-based planes.Warish was Wchter.In the fog and darkness of 3 February, U-233 floatedmaking the rounds among the troops.Aboard U-233, torpedo on the surface as Wchter, binoculars raised to his eyes, stud- man Erich Pssler prepared to fire three torpedoes.Within min-ied the dark silhouettes of SG-19 passing in the distance. utes, the three deadly fish were in the water heading toward the Earlier, U-233 survived a depth charge attack brought aboutshadow creeping past at a distance of 1,000 yards.by the sonar indications of the escorts.When submerged,Warish had just looked at his watch when, at approximately U-boats could be detected by sonar, but when on the surface,0055 hours, one of the torpedoes ripped into the Dorchesters the escorts were blind to their presence because they lackedstarboard side.The ensuing explosion rent a hole near the en-radar.As a result, Wchter used that advantage, along with thegine room from below the waterline to the top deck.The lights haze and darkness, to keep pace with the convoy. went out, steam pipes split, and bunks collapsed like cards one All the ships of SG-19 knew that a U-boat was in the area.on top of another.The sounds of screaming and the smell of The evening before Captain Danielsen of the Dorchester an- gunpowder and ammonia filled the air.The initial explosion nounced over the ships public address system, Now here this:killed dozens outright, and a wave of cold water entering the This concerns every soldier.Now here this:Every soldier isship quickly drowned dozens more.Nearly one-third those ordered to sleep in his clothes and life jacket.Repeat, this isaboard died in the first moments of the disaster.an order!We have a submarine following usIf we make itMen, many of whom had disobeyed Captain Danielsens or-through the night, in the morning we will have air protectionders to wear their clothes and life preservers, wandered through from Blue West One, which is the code name for the air basethe darkened and mangled passageways searching for their in Greenland, and of course, we will have protection until weclothes.Warish lay trapped under some bunks that pinned his reach port. leg to the deck.Within a minute, the ship listed thirty degrees Between the known presence of a submarine and the roughto starboard.Panicked men rushed topside, but many never 100'