We gather this morning 100 years after the guns went silent at the end of World War I on the 11thday of the 11thmonth and the 11thhour.
We gather today to recognize our veterans who’ve served our country, brave men and women who’ve served in our armed forces both at home and abroad.
We’re thankful for those who finished their service and returned to life, and we also recognize and pray for healing for those who are wounded, with wounds both visible and invisible that they carry inside.
This morning I’d like to share a story that some of us may already have heard: the story of the 4 chaplains – if there is a chance though that someone hears this story for the first time today, then that would be a blessing.
The 4 chaplains story is a story of bravery, sacrifice, and honor about soldiers who go into combat only with their faith, to guide and help the troops.
This past February marked 75 years since 4 chaplains aboard the troop carrier Dorchester went down with the ship after helping countless soldiers to escape after the ship was hit by U-Boat 223 150 miles away from its destination in Greenland.
The 4 chaplains, all first lieutenants, were:
Methodist minister Reverend George L. Fox
Reform Rabbi Alexander D. Goode
Catholic priest John P. Washington
And minister of the Reformed Church of America, Reverend Clark V. Poling
The coast guard cutter Tampa, one of the Dorchester’s escorts, had detected a submarine and so the Dorchester’s captain Hans Danielsen ordered the men to sleep with their clothing and life jackets on. Many soldiers chose not to sleep with the life jacket on due to the heat down below or due to the discomfort of wearing the jacket while sleeping.
U-223 fired 3 torpedoes, one of them was the decisive hit, Danielsen ordered the troops to abandon ship.
The escort CGC Comanche (coast guard cutter) and the Escanaba together rescued 229 sailors.
But there was chaos on board the Dorchester – the blast had killed so many, soldiers groping in the darkness, those who weren’t fully dressed felt the cold Arctic night air when they got to deck, some soldiers overloaded life boats that capsized, some life boat drifted away.
Out of the panic, the 4 chaplains came forward to help calm the sailors and help them to safety.
They offered prayers for the dying and encouragement to the others.
Rabbi Goode gave petty officer John Mahoney his own pair of gloves after Mahoney explained he forgot his own.
“Never mind,” Rabbi Goode responded, “I have two pairs.”
The 4 chaplains gave away their own life jackets to the soldiers.
The ship went down and the 4 chaplains were together on the deck slanting into the water, offering prayers.
The army awarded the 4 chaplains the distinguished service cross and purple heart posthumously on December 19, 1944.
A very special, one time only in history Medal for Heroism was awarded to the 4 chaplains by President Eisenhower in January of 1961. The Medal of Honor could not be awarded due to stringent requirements that the act of heroism needed to be carried out under fire.
I’d like to share a short biography of Rabbi Alexander Goode – and, as it happens, it was a pleasant surprise that when I was serving a congregation up in Bergen County, I spoke about the 4 chaplains from the bimah and a member came forward to tell me that he was Rabbi Goode’s grandson. Afterwards, he shared with me some memorabilia and documents including his grandfather’s unpublished book ‘A Cavalcade for Democracy.’
He was born in Brooklyn in May of 1911, the son of a rabbi. He earned his rabbinical ordination at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati in 1937. After serving congregations in Indiana and Pennsylvania, he applied more than once to become a military chaplain and was finally accepted in July of 1942.
He attended Chaplains school at Harvard.
His first assignment was at 333rdAirbase Squadron in North Carolina and then Camp Myles Standish in Massachusetts – there he regrouped with the 3 others who would join him on the Dorchester that was headed toward Greenland.
There is a chapel of the 4 chaplains that’s been dedicated to sharing the story since the late 1940s – since 2001, it’s located on Constitution Avenue in Philadelphia.
Today, as we recognize our veterans, we remember the supreme dedication and sacrifice demonstrated by the 4 chaplains – and we take inspiration from the way they helped others, the way they reinforce for us the sacredness and value of life.
You may recall the story told by our tradition about the 2 people in the wilderness, there is only enough water for one to reach the next town – and that in this painful circumstance, the teaching is that one must take the water and live, as the Torah teaches, ‘ve’chay achicha imach’, that your fellow lives, the chaplains helped others to live.
May we have the strength to reach out to those in need, those who like our veterans are suffering from wounds both visible and invisible.
Amen.
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