MIKE MILLER: Remembering four who gave all
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Mike Miller
The Four Chaplains were honored with a commemorative stamp that was issued in 1948, and was designed by Louis Schwimmer of the U.S. Postal Service. None of the names of the chaplains were included on the stamp, nor were their faiths (although the faiths had been listed on one of the earlier designs); instead, the words on the stamp were "These Immortal Chaplains ... Interfaith in Action."
Clark Poling
George Fox
John Washington
Alexander Goode
In just a few precious minutes on an angry and foreboding sea there happened a most hallowed example of faith, courage and compassion.
Gerhard Buske was an eager first officer on the initial combat voyage of U-223. In January 1943, orders were given by Adm. Karl Donitz to the Kriegsmarine: "Seek out and destroy American merchant ships in the North Atlantic."
German sailors were proud to join the dreaded wolf packs -- dozens of Nazi U-boats whose business it was to line the ocean floor with the twisted hulls of doomed ships and the mangled bodies of men.
The U.S. Army Transport Dorchester was a small, aging passenger ship, pressed into service for transporting American soldiers to Greenland. On its final voyage, there were nearly 900 American soldiers aboard, along with the ship's crew.
Among those soldiers were four U.S. Army chaplains: Clark Poling and George Fox, who were ministers; John Washington, a priest; and Rabbi Alexander Goode. They had attended chaplain school together in Maryland and shared the same mission: to comfort the young soldiers in their care.
After enduring the worst storm of the North Atlantic in 50 years, the four chaplains gave aid to many of the soldiers who had been injured, or were too seasick to function. When the seas calmed a bit, the four chaplains organized a talent night for the evening of Feb. 3. The soldiers and sailors all sang familiar songs and shared memories from home.
Their crowded, slow-moving ship was about to enter the dangerous waters just east of Newfoundland -- an area known infamously as "Torpedo Junction" -- and the fear of drowning in a cold and lonely sea was on all of their minds.
In the early morning of Feb. 4, U-223 was lurking in the black water hunting for defenseless prey. On that moonless night, its periscope cut an invisible wake in the darkness as it stalked a small convoy of ships.
The black shadow moving slowly against the starry night looked like a troopship to the U-boat captain. He did not hesitate to give the order to fire. Three torpedoes left the forward tubes in rapid succession, cutting swiftly through the frigid sea in a wide arc.
The first and last engines of death spun away from the target to the right and to the left, eventually falling into the dark abyss. The second one was luckier, striking below the water line, amidship on the starboard side.
The noise was deafening and the carnage immediate -- so many in their youth were blown to bits, burned alive or drowned.
The thirsty Dorchester guzzled brine into her steel bowels. Men panicked and ran for safety but many were trapped below in the wreckage while others were too severely injured to move.
The four chaplains moved calmly and reassuringly among the men as they consoled the injured, reassured the frightened and helped the disorientated find lifeboats or rafts.
As the old ship groaned and tilted starboard, the last men to abandon ship searched for anything that would float. They cried out for help and mumbled prayers as they hoped for a chance to survive.
"They reeled and staggered like drunken men -- they were at their wits' end. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble." -- The Psalmist
The four chaplains were handing out the last of the life vests from the last locker, but still the men came. One of the chaplains gave his gloves to a man that had none on this freezing night.
Another chaplain gave his life vest to a teary-eyed young soldier. Then one of the chaplains gave his life vest to another fellow American in the service of his country. A third chaplain gave his to a sailor -- a crew member. Another sailor staggered forward, missing his left arm. The last chaplain wearing a life vest removed it and took the laces from his shoes to secure it, where a few moments before an arm would have done.
Sgt. Michael Warick was bobbing in the icy, oil-slick water, watching the crippled ship as it was being pulled beneath the merciless sea.
He said later, "It was the finest thing that I had ever seen, or ever will see, this side of heaven. The four chaplains had braced themselves against an ever increasing angle on the foamy deck, arm in arm, praying their last prayers -- together." The Latin, Hebrew and English prayers intermingled with the smoke and the steam as they rose toward heaven's open gates.
"Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee / For those in peril on the sea!" -- The Navy Hymn
In just 27 minutes after the T5A torpedo found its destined target, the Dorchester was swallowed by hungry waves. Only about 200 souls survived that short, yet ever so deadly sea battle, 69 years ago this week.
We have much to learn from those four men of the cloth. The priest didn't say, "Is there a good Catholic that I can give my life jacket to?" The rabbi didn't try to find a fellow Jew for his.
The two Protestant ministers did not seek out only the faithful to be saved. They simply gave their life vests -- and their lives -- to the next man in line.
"Have we not all one father? Hath not one God created us all?" -- Micah
The U-223 was eventually sunk by British destroyers in 1944. Most of the crew perished, but first officer Buske was captured and taken prisoner.
In the year 2000, a reunion was held in Washington, D.C., for the survivors of the Dorchester sinking.
One of those who spoke urged the audience to pursue the principles embraced by the Four Chaplains.
He said: "We ought to love when others hate, we can bring faith where doubt threatens, we can awaken hope where despair exists, we can kindle a light where darkness reigns and we can bring joy where sorrow dominates."
He asked with a full heart: "If we can die together, why can't we live together?"
Beautiful and meaningful words they were, capturing the heartfelt sentiments of all those in attendance, including family members of the Four Chaplains.
Gerhard Buske had 57 years to reflect on that dreadful night after all.
Mike Miller of Bakersfield is a steel fabrication estimator for a local manufacturer.
