PRINTER'S NO. 364
No. 19 Session of 1999
INTRODUCED BY O'PAKE, THOMPSON, LOEPER, LAVALLE, HELFRICK,
WENGER, STAPLETON, BODACK, HART, TILGHMAN AND WAGNER,
FEBRUARY 8, 1999
INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, FEBRUARY 8, 1999
A RESOLUTION
1 Paying tribute during February 1999 to four Army chaplains for
2 their selfless ultimate sacrifice during World War II.
3 WHEREAS, On January 11, 1943, the United States Army
4 Transport Dorchester sailed from its home pier carrying 904
5 American soldiers, merchant marines and civilian support forces
6 to Greenland as part of a convoy; and
7 WHEREAS, On February 3, 1943, a German torpedo slammed
8 through the hull of the Dorchester and detonated deep within the
9 ship; and
10 WHEREAS, Many of the passengers had been killed or injured,
11 and survivors were stunned and disoriented; and
12 WHEREAS, Four Army chaplains: Lieutenant George L. Fox,
13 Methodist; Lieutenant Alexander D. Goode, Jewish; John F.
14 Washington, Roman Catholic; and Clark V. Poling, Dutch Reformed,
15 calmed the survivors and helped them find and don life jackets;
16 and
17 WHEREAS, As crowded life boats ran out, the chaplains removed
1 their own life jackets and gave them to those who had none,
2 without regard to their religious beliefs; and
3 WHEREAS, In so doing, the chaplains gave up their only hope
4 for survival; and
5 WHEREAS, The four chaplains were awarded the Purple Heart and
6 the Distinguished Service Cross and on July 14, 1960, the
7 Congress of the United States awarded a special medal for valor
8 given in memory of the four chaplains and never to be repeated;
9 and
10 WHEREAS, The permanent memorial to the four chaplains who
11 went down with the U.S.A.T. Dorchester will be constructed at
12 its new location near Valley Forge in the historic heart of our
13 Commonwealth; and
14 WHEREAS, This memorial will be an interfaith shrine with
15 remembrances for members of the Catholic, Jewish and Protestant
16 faiths, calling all to the unity the four chaplains so
17 heroically demonstrated; and
18 WHEREAS, The four chaplains are commemorated in the
19 distinguished "Four Chaplains Award" which is given in
20 recognition of outstanding service for the benefit of veterans
21 of all prior wars and military actions; therefore be it
22 RESOLVED, That the Senate hereby pay tribute, during February
23 1999, to the four Army chaplains for their selfless ultimate
24 sacrifice during World War II.
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