And we returned to our American stories. Up next, another story courtesy of the great folks at the Grateful Nation Project. On February third, nineteen forty three, one of the worst sea disasters in the history of the United States Navy transpired far off the coast of Greenland as the USS Dorchester, a converted luxury ocean liner filled with troops, sank into the icy waters of the North Atlantic. Six hundred and seventy four men would die, the largest loss of troops in a convoy during the entire war. But amidst the tragedy, there was courageous beauty Here to tell the story of the Immortal Chapelains is Craig Dumay take it away.

And we returned to our American stories. Up next, another story courtesy of the great folks at the Grateful Nation Project. On February third, nineteen forty three, one of the worst sea disasters in the history of the United States Navy transpired far off the coast of Greenland as the USS Dorchester, a converted luxury ocean liner filled with troops, sank into the icy waters of the North Atlantic. Six hundred and seventy four men would die, the largest loss of troops in a convoy during the entire war. But amidst the tragedy, there was courageous beauty Here to tell the story of the Immortal Chapelains is Craig Dumay take it away.

Craig a Methodist, a Rabbi, a Dutch Reformed minister, and a walk on to a ship that sounds like the first line of a joke you might hear in a bar. This is the story of the selfless bravery of four men of different faiths. George Lansing Fox was born in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, in nineteen hundred, one of five children. Eager to leave home, he quit school at age seventeen and convinced Army officials that he was eighteen. As the United States entered the Great War, Fox trained as an ambulance driver and medical orderly, then was sent to France and the war's Western Front. Fox's bravery earned him the Silver Star Medal and the French Qua Deghier for rescuing a wounded soldier from the battlefield filled with poison gas, even though he wore no mask himself. After the war, Fox was married and became an itinerant Methodist preacher. With his service as a war veteran, Fox was appointed as the State of Vermont's American Legion chaplain and historian. With a surprise attack at Pearl Harbour in December of nineteen forty one. Fully aware of the horrors of war, George Fox joined the Army chaplain Service, beginning active duty on August eighth, nineteen forty two. The same day his son Wyat enlisted in the U. S. Marine Corps. Our second Hero was born in Brooklyn, New York, in May nineteen eleven. Alexander David Good was ordained as a rabbi at Hebrew Union College in nineteen thirty seven. Good gave public lectures on Jewish history and during the nineteen thirties, Rabbi Good grew increasingly concerned about Adolf Hitler's rise to power and reports of mistreatment of Jews in Europe. He applied to join the Navy chaplaincy in nineteen forty one, but was told he was not needed. Good again applied, this time for the U. S. Army Chaplain Corps, and was accepted. First stationed at Seymour Johnson Field in Goldsboro, North Carolina, Good requested a transfer to the front lines. Next to we have Clark Vandersall Polling. His father, Doctor Daniel Poling, was an evangelical minister and well known Christian author, journalist, and broadcaster, and president of the Armed Services Chaplain Association. Clark Polling's vocation seemed inevitable. With a heritage of six previous generations of clergymen, Clark too felt the call to ministry. After the Japanese attack, Reverend Polling volunteered as a chaplain, following in his father's footsteps. Our fourth chaplain is John Patrick Washington born in nineteen o eight in Newark, New Jersey. His parents, Frank and Mary Washington, were poor Irish Catholic immigrants, and John grew up in some rough neighborhoods. As early as the seventh grade, John knew that he wanted to be a priest. Shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Father Washington received an appointment as an army chaplain. All four men would soon be forever joined together because of an act of uncommon selflessness and courage. On January twenty three, nineteen forty three, the US Army transport ship Dorchester left New York Harbor, sailing through the North Atlantic into the Labrador Sea. Dorchester was a civilian coastal liner, stripped of its cruise ship luxuries and converted into a troop transport for the U. S Army. Her destination was the southern tip of Greenland. The dangerous trip kept American service members on edge. Imagine being an American soldier, trained and ready to fight, but pat lake sarg into a slow moving vessel, far from the comforts of home, crossing rough, icy seas, and knowing that an unseen enemy is lurking somewhere below you, and you have no real way to fight back. The Dorchester's holds were packed with a thousand tons of equipment. She carried nine hundred and two souls, among them five hundred and ninety seven soldiers and one hundred and seventy one civilian workers and merchant seamen. First Sergeant Michael Warish recalls making his rounds aboard the Dorchester and coming across four men huddled together having an animated discussion. The four chaplains aboard the ship called him over. They asked for his help in spreading the word about religious services and about a talent contest being planned as a diversion for the troops who had nothing to do but worry about the tension filled transit through what had become known as Torpedo Junction. Eleven days after leaving New York, harp Convoy SG nineteen was nearing safe waters off Greenland's coast on February three, nineteen forty three, but the escort ship's sonar had picked up the presence of four German U boats. An announcement was made over Dorchester's PA system, ordering the soldiers to sleep in their clothes and life veests. Just one hundred and fifty miles from their destination. U two two three fired three torpedoes at the Dorchester. One exploded into her starboard side. One hundred men were killed. Instantly, panic swept the dying vessel. Those not trapped below decks scrambled topside. Stunned from the explosion, the frigid darkness and the blasting Arctic winds, Dorchester would slip beneath the waves of the Atlantic's icy waters within twenty minutes. The four usr many Chaplains were on the deck that fateful night. According to the U. S. Army's account, Once topside, the Chaplains opened a storage locker and began distributing life jackets. It was then that engineer Grady Clark witnessed an astonishing sight. When there were no more life jackets in the storage room, the Chaplains simultaneously removed theirs and gave them to four frightened young men. As the ship went down, survivors in nearby rafts could see the four Chaplains arms linked and braced against the slanting deck. Their voices could also be heard offering prayers and singing hymns. Only two hundred and thirty of the nine hundred and two men aboard Dorchester survived. Each of the four Chaplains was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for their bravery. Their actions on February three, nineteen forty three became an enduring example of faith and self sacrifice.

Craig a Methodist, a Rabbi, a Dutch Reformed minister, and a walk on to a ship that sounds like the first line of a joke you might hear in a bar. This is the story of the selfless bravery of four men of different faiths. George Lansing Fox was born in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, in nineteen hundred, one of five children. Eager to leave home, he quit school at age seventeen and convinced Army officials that he was eighteen. As the United States entered the Great War, Fox trained as an ambulance driver and medical orderly, then was sent to France and the war's Western Front. Fox's bravery earned him the Silver Star Medal and the French Qua Deghier for rescuing a wounded soldier from the battlefield filled with poison gas, even though he wore no mask himself. After the war, Fox was married and became an itinerant Methodist preacher. With his service as a war veteran, Fox was appointed as the State of Vermont's American Legion chaplain and historian. With a surprise attack at Pearl Harbour in December of nineteen forty one. Fully aware of the horrors of war, George Fox joined the Army chaplain Service, beginning active duty on August eighth, nineteen forty two. The same day his son Wyat enlisted in the U. S. Marine Corps. Our second Hero was born in Brooklyn, New York, in May nineteen eleven. Alexander David Good was ordained as a rabbi at Hebrew Union College in nineteen thirty seven. Good gave public lectures on Jewish history and during the nineteen thirties, Rabbi Good grew increasingly concerned about Adolf Hitler's rise to power and reports of mistreatment of Jews in Europe. He applied to join the Navy chaplaincy in nineteen forty one, but was told he was not needed. Good again applied, this time for the U. S. Army Chaplain Corps, and was accepted. First stationed at Seymour Johnson Field in Goldsboro, North Carolina, Good requested a transfer to the front lines. Next to we have Clark Vandersall Polling. His father, Doctor Daniel Poling, was an evangelical minister and well known Christian author, journalist, and broadcaster, and president of the Armed Services Chaplain Association. Clark Polling's vocation seemed inevitable. With a heritage of six previous generations of clergymen, Clark too felt the call to ministry. After the Japanese attack, Reverend Polling volunteered as a chaplain, following in his father's footsteps. Our fourth chaplain is John Patrick Washington born in nineteen o eight in Newark, New Jersey. His parents, Frank and Mary Washington, were poor Irish Catholic immigrants, and John grew up in some rough neighborhoods. As early as the seventh grade, John knew that he wanted to be a priest. Shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Father Washington received an appointment as an army chaplain. All four men would soon be forever joined together because of an act of uncommon selflessness and courage. On January twenty three, nineteen forty three, the US Army transport ship Dorchester left New York Harbor, sailing through the North Atlantic into the Labrador Sea. Dorchester was a civilian coastal liner, stripped of its cruise ship luxuries and converted into a troop transport for the U. S Army. Her destination was the southern tip of Greenland. The dangerous trip kept American service members on edge. Imagine being an American soldier, trained and ready to fight, but pat lake sarg into a slow moving vessel, far from the comforts of home, crossing rough, icy seas, and knowing that an unseen enemy is lurking somewhere below you, and you have no real way to fight back. The Dorchester's holds were packed with a thousand tons of equipment. She carried nine hundred and two souls, among them five hundred and ninety seven soldiers and one hundred and seventy one civilian workers and merchant seamen. First Sergeant Michael Warish recalls making his rounds aboard the Dorchester and coming across four men huddled together having an animated discussion. The four chaplains aboard the ship called him over. They asked for his help in spreading the word about religious services and about a talent contest being planned as a diversion for the troops who had nothing to do but worry about the tension filled transit through what had become known as Torpedo Junction. Eleven days after leaving New York, harp Convoy SG nineteen was nearing safe waters off Greenland's coast on February three, nineteen forty three, but the escort ship's sonar had picked up the presence of four German U boats. An announcement was made over Dorchester's PA system, ordering the soldiers to sleep in their clothes and life veests. Just one hundred and fifty miles from their destination. U two two three fired three torpedoes at the Dorchester. One exploded into her starboard side. One hundred men were killed. Instantly, panic swept the dying vessel. Those not trapped below decks scrambled topside. Stunned from the explosion, the frigid darkness and the blasting Arctic winds, Dorchester would slip beneath the waves of the Atlantic's icy waters within twenty minutes. The four usr many Chaplains were on the deck that fateful night. According to the U. S. Army's account, Once topside, the Chaplains opened a storage locker and began distributing life jackets. It was then that engineer Grady Clark witnessed an astonishing sight. When there were no more life jackets in the storage room, the Chaplains simultaneously removed theirs and gave them to four frightened young men. As the ship went down, survivors in nearby rafts could see the four Chaplains arms linked and braced against the slanting deck. Their voices could also be heard offering prayers and singing hymns. Only two hundred and thirty of the nine hundred and two men aboard Dorchester survived. Each of the four Chaplains was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for their bravery. Their actions on February three, nineteen forty three became an enduring example of faith and self sacrifice.

And a terrific job on the production, editing and storytelling by our own Monty Montgomery, And a special thanks to Craig Dumay. He works with a Grateful Nation project and we appreciate the storytelling as I'm sure you do too. A particular favorite of our shows is just self sacrifice and of course what people have done during wartime, our soldiers, and of course so many who serve our soldiers, including our chaplains, Rabbi good Clark Polling, George Fox, John Patrick Washington, all posthumously awarded Distinguished Service Crosses for offering up their life vests to four petrified seamen, and what a thing to do, and singing while they went down, serving their Lord alive as they would serve him forever. And what a story about war. These boys are heading straight through what was called torpedo jungk that were warned what might happened. It happened, and well we know the count six hundred and seventy four dead. And that's why we tell these stories always a reminder of those that came before us and paid the ultimate sacrifice. The story of the Four Immortal Chaplains. Here on our American stories.

And a terrific job on the production, editing and storytelling by our own Monty Montgomery, And a special thanks to Craig Dumay. He works with a Grateful Nation project and we appreciate the storytelling as I'm sure you do too. A particular favorite of our shows is just self sacrifice and of course what people have done during wartime, our soldiers, and of course so many who serve our soldiers, including our chaplains, Rabbi good Clark Polling, George Fox, John Patrick Washington, all posthumously awarded Distinguished Service Crosses for offering up their life vests to four petrified seamen, and what a thing to do, and singing while they went down, serving their Lord alive as they would serve him forever. And what a story about war. These boys are heading straight through what was called torpedo jungk that were warned what might happened. It happened, and well we know the count six hundred and seventy four dead. And that's why we tell these stories always a reminder of those that came before us and paid the ultimate sacrifice. The story of the Four Immortal Chaplains. Here on our American stories.