FEBRUARY 3, 2026 — In the early hours of Feb. 3, 1943, the USAT Dorchester, an Army transport ship, cut through the icy North Atlantic, carrying over 900 American Soldiers and crewmembers. The quiet of the night shattered in an instant as a German torpedo slammed into the hull, tearing metal and flesh alike.
Pandemonium erupted as flames licked the walls and smoke choked the decks. To the left, a steel beam crashed down, destroying everything in its path. To the right, crates of supplies slid helplessly into the freezing darkness. Screams and shouts filled the air, competing with the roar of the sea.
As the vessel began its slow, inevitable descent, men scrambled to the lifeboats for a chance of survival amid the chaos. Every step was a gamble, for one wrong move, and the icy Atlantic would claim them.
Four chaplains onboard turned to the sky to pray for the lives of their comrades as they rushed to provide aid. They were Chaplain Alexander D. Goode, a rabbi; Chaplain George L. Fox, a Methodist minister; Chaplain Clark V. Poling, a Dutch Reformed minister; and Chaplain John P. Washington, a Catholic priest. Despite their different faiths, they were united by a shared conviction: that service to God was inseparable from service to others. In their shared mission of serving others, they would become immortalized as the Four Chaplains, heroes whose courage transcended creed.
Surrounded by danger, they lived the words of Psalm 91:2-4:
“I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’ For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from deadly peril. He will cover you with his wings, and under his protection you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and buckler.”
In the freezing waters of the North Atlantic, without protection, survival was unlikely. As Soldiers moved through the ship and onto the deck, the Four Chaplains remained with them, grounded in their trust in God and attentive to those placed in their care. They guided men through smoke-filled passageways towards lifeboats, passing out life jackets and whispering words of protection and comfort to their comrades. But as the supply dwindled, the Four Chaplains knew what they had to do. One by one, each chaplain took the life jacket off his body and placed it on a Soldier beside him.
Twenty-seven minutes after being struck, the Dorchester sank into the depths, leaving only two hundred and thirty survivors. Many of those survivors, as well as personnel aboard the accompanying American ships who sprang into action when they were needed, later recalled seeing the Four Chaplains standing together on deck, arm in arm, praying aloud. Their voices rose above the sound of the merciless ocean. Motivated by love of God and country, the Four Chaplains sacrificed themselves, and their final act left an enduring mark on our Nation’s history.
In 1944, the Army posthumously awarded the Four Chaplains the Distinguished Service Cross and the Purple Heart. Yet even those honors did not fully capture the magnitude of their sacrifice. Although the Medal of Honor criteria at the time focused on direct combat with the enemy, the Four Chaplains’ extraordinary heroism stood fully beyond question. Rather than allow that sacrifice to go unmatched, Congress created a special Four Chaplains Medal in 1960, equal in significance to the Medal of Honor and awarded only once. It was presented to their Families in 1961 as a clear statement that the Nation understood the weight of what they had done.
Congress also designated February 3 as Four Chaplains Day, ensuring their story would endure as a guide for generations to come. Across the nation, memorials, chapels and annual observances reflect that legacy, carried forward in the mission they defined.
Today, we celebrate our heroes, the legendary Four Chaplains of the Dorchester. Their sacrifice echoes a question familiar to every calling rooted in service: “What shall I return to the Lord for all His goodness to me?” (Psalm 116:12). The Four Chaplains answered with their lives, standing present when fear was strongest and serving with unwavering selflessness.
In doing so, they shaped a calling that continues to guide the thousands of U.S. Army chaplains, religious affairs specialists, and directors of religious education serving around the world: “…to give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute; rescue the weak and the needy,” (Psalm 82:3-4).
By Stella Naulo