The motto of the Chaplain Corps is “Pro Deo et Patria”…For God and Country.
Today, the Molière Celebration is dedicated to these four Army chaplains who brought hope in despair and light in darkness:
Lt. George L. Fox, a Methodist minister;
Lt. Alexander D. Goode, a Jewish rabbi;
Lt. John P. Washington, a Roman Catholic priest; and
Lt. Clark V. Poling, a Dutch Reformed minister.
Their heroism in the midst of the sinking of the USAT Dorchester on February 3, 1943, was celebrated in the American Legion Four Chaplains Memorial Service held in Middleburg, VA, on February 2, 2025.
Today we celebrate them by awarding the Molière Celebration in remembrance of their personal sacrifice in saving the lives of many others who were aboard the Dorchester.
In today’s world, we are blessed with too few heroes and exemplars to look up to and emulate. But there are indeed heroes among us, and it’s vital that we recognize them as a token of hope. Too often we become bogged down in the less inspiring acts of those we ridicule on these pages, but today is one of uplifting celebration and hope for the future.
We are pleased to provide this link to the complete program of the memorial ceremony.
With renewed hope and inspiration, we celebrate the Four Chaplains in the pantheon of Molière heroes.
Four Chaplains Memorial Service
2:00 P.M. Sunday, February 2, 2025 – Post 295 Middleburg, Virginia
Call to Order Victor Graulau Post 28, Triangle 16th District Commander
Welcome Gary Nickleson Post 295, Middleburg Commander
Pledge of Allegiance Patrick Fox Post 290, Stafford 16th District First Vice-Commander
“America the Beautiful” (Video)
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties,
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood,
From sea to shining sea!
O beautiful for patriot dream,
That sees beyond the years,
Thine alabaster cities gleam,
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God mend thing every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood,
From sea to shining sea!
Invocation Michael W. Husfelt, Pastor Upperville Baptist Church 16th District Chaplain Post 295 Middleburg USAF Colonel, Chaplain Corps, Retired
God of our fathers and our God, we thank you for the unity that the Dorchester
chaplains, these four men of God, demonstrated in life and in death.
Unity that is not uniformity.
Unity that strengthens within each of us ever worthy of faith and patience.
Unity that transcends all our differences and makes us one in loyalty to our country and our fellowmen, and to You, our God.
Grant us now Your abiding presence, and may we remain faithful to the spirit of these Four Chaplains, who, in death were not divided. And Father we ask for your protection of all Military Chaplains, who, having learned to live and serve together as of this coming July 29th for 250 years. Bless them, and Bless all service members at home, deployed at sea or in foreign lands, in thy Precious Name we pray. Amen
Introduction of Guests Victor Graulau Post 28, Triangle 16th District Commander
Prelude John Paul Molière Post 295, Middleburg 16th District Second Vice Commander
For God and Country 
The Armed Forces Chaplain Corps and the American Legion are inextricably bound by four words. The first four words of the American Legion Constitution are “For God and Country” and in Latin, the motto of the Chaplain Corps is “Pro Deo et Patria”…For God and Country. Today the American Legion is proud to honor our brother Chaplains. When George Washington at Valley Forge was asked what he was in most need of, he responded “…a few Chaplains would help.” Washington was arguably the President who most supported military chaplaincy, being instrumental for Congressional approval of chaplains for the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.
And so, this July 29th, we will honor the 250 years of the Chaplain Corps service to the military on land at sea and in the air, but first let me set the stage for today’s event.
I am a proud Yankee, having been raised on a dairy farm midway between Washington’s Winter Headquarters in Morristown, NJ and Valley Forge, PA just across the Delaware River in the heart of New Jersey’s snowbelt. I had the honor of serving in the U.S. Navy both on active and reserve duty on four ships, three of which were homeported in New England: the U.S.S. Nitro, an ammunition ship out of Davisville, RI; the U.S.S. Salamonie, a fleet oiler out of Newport, RI and the U.S.S. Aeolus a cable layer out of Portsmouth Naval Base, Kittery, ME which actually laid submarine cable in the Bering Sea between Alaska and Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula to track Russian shipping.
At 12:30 a.m. on Feb. 3, 1943, 82 years ago tomorrow, the bell on USAT Dorchester rang twice and never was sounded again.
On the evening of Feb. 2, 1943, USAT Dorchester was crowded to capacity, carrying 902 U.S troops, merchant seamen and civilian workers. Once a coastal luxury liner, the 5,649-ton vessel had been converted into an Army transport ship. Dorchester, one of three ships in the SG-19 convoy, was moving steadily across the icy waters from Newfoundland and Labrador toward a U.S. base in Greenland, a staging site for the D-Day invasion. Coast Guard cutters Tampa, Escanaba and Comanche escorted the convoy. Hans Danielsen, the ship’s captain, was concerned and cautious. Earlier, Tampa had detected a submarine with its sonar. Captain Danielsen knew he was in dangerous waters even before he got the report. German U-boats were constantly prowling these vital sea lanes, where several ships had already been sunk. Dorchester was now only 150 miles from its Greenland destination, but the captain ordered the men to sleep in their clothing and keep life jackets on. Many soldiers sleeping deep in the ship’s hold disregarded the order because of the engine’s heat. Others ignored it because the life jackets were uncomfortable.
On Feb. 3, at 12:55 a.m., a periscope broke the chilly Atlantic waters. Through the cross hairs, an officer aboard U-223 spotted Dorchester. After identifying and targeting the ship, he gave orders to fire a fan of three torpedoes. The one that hit was decisive and deadly, striking the starboard side, amidship, far below the water line. The troopship was fatally torpedoed by this enemy submarine, and 672 young men died as it sank to the bottom.
Alerted that Dorchester was sinking rapidly, Danielsen gave the order to abandon ship. In fewer than 20 minutes, Dorchester would slip beneath the Atlantic’s icy waters. Tragically, the hit had knocked out power and radio contact with the three escort ships. Tampa, however, saw the flash of the explosion. It responded and rescued 97 survivors Escanaba circled Dorchester, rescuing an additional 133 survivors (one died later). Comanche continued on, escorting the remaining two ships. Aboard Dorchester, panic and chaos had set in. The blast had killed scores of men, and many more were seriously wounded. Others, stunned by the explosion, were groping in darkness. Those sleeping without clothing rushed topside, where they were confronted first by a blast of icy Arctic air and then the knowledge that death awaited. Men jumped from the ship into lifeboats, overcrowding them to the point of capsizing, according to eyewitnesses. Other rafts tossed into the Atlantic, drifted away before soldiers could get into them. In the midst of the pandemonium, according to those present, four Army chaplains brought hope in despair and light in darkness: Lt. George L. Fox, a Methodist minister; Lt. Alexander D. Goode, a Jewish rabbi; Lt. John P. Washington, a Roman Catholic priest; and Lt. Clark V. Poling, a Dutch Reformed minister.
Quickly and quietly, the four chaplains spread among the soldiers. They tried to calm the frightened, tend the wounded, and guide the disoriented toward safety. “Witnesses of that terrible night remember hearing the four men offer prayers for the dying and encouragement for those who would live,” said Wyatt Fox, son of Reverend Fox.
One witness, Pvt. William Bednar, found himself floating in oil-smeared water surrounded by dead bodies and debris. “I could hear men crying, pleading, praying,” Bednar recalled. “I could also hear the chaplains preaching courage. Their voices were the only thing that kept me going.”
A sailor, Petty Officer John Mahoney, tried to re-enter his cabin but was stopped by Rabbi Goode concerned about the cold Arctic air, Mahoney explained that he had forgotten his gloves. “Never mind,” Goode responded. “I have two pairs.” The rabbi then gave the petty officer his own gloves. Later, Mahoney realized that Goode had not been carrying two pairs of gloves, and that the chaplain had decided not to leave Dorchester.
By this time, most of the men were topside, and 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 to hand out, the chaplains removed theirs and gave them to four frightened young men. Rabbi Goode did not call out for a Jew, and Father Washington did not call out for a Catholic. Nor did Rev. Fox and Rev. Poling call out for a Protestant. They simply gave their life jackets to those next in line.
“It was the finest thing I have ever seen or hope to see this side of heaven,’ said John Ladd, another survivor who saw the chaplains’ selfless act. As the ship went down, survivors in nearby rafts could see the four chaplains, braced against the slanting deck, arm in arm. They were heard praying and singing hymns. Of the 902 men aboard Dorchester, 672 died. When the news reached the United States, the nation was stunned by the magnitude of the tragedy and the heroic conduct of the four chaplains.
“Valor is a gift,” Carl Sandburg once said. “Those having it never know for sure whether they have it until the test comes.” That night, Rev. Fox, Rabbi Goode, Rev. Poling and Father Washington passed life’s ultimate test. In doing so, they became an enduring example of extraordinary faith, courage, and selflessness. In 1944, the Distinguished Service Cross and Purple Heart were awarded posthumously to the chaplains’ next of kin, and in 1961 President Eisenhower awarded a special Medal for Heroism, a one-time award authorized by Congress and intended to have the same weight and importance as the Medal of Honor.
At this time, a candle will be lit for each of the Four Chaplains
Chaplain (Reverend) George Fox Ron Embry, Adjutant Post 295, Middleburg
I light this candle in memory of Chaplain George L. Fox …
George Fox was the oldest of the Four Chaplains. In Vermont, he was called “the little minister,” because he was 5’7”. Lying about his age in 1917, he enlisted in the Army as a medical corps assistant. He received the Silver Star for rescuing a wounded soldier from a battlefield filled with poison gas, although he wore no gas mask himself, and the Croix de Guerre for outstanding bravery in an artillery barrage that left him with a broken spine. After the war, he became a successful accountant. He was happily married with two children when he heard God’s call to the ministry. Fox went back to school and later was ordained as a Methodist minister. When war came, he once again enlisted, telling his wife, “I’ve got to go. I know from experience what our boys are about to face. They need me.” Before he boarded Dorchester, he wrote a letter to his daughter. “I want you to know,” he wrote, “how proud I am that your marks in school are so high – but always remember that kindness and charity and courtesy are much more important.
Chaplain (Rabbi) Alexander D. Goode Kevin McCarthy 1st Vice Commander Post 295 Middleburg
I light this candle in memory of Chaplain Alexander D. Goode …
Growing up in Washington, D.C., Alexander Goode was an outstanding athlete and scholar. Following in his father’s footsteps, this young man – known for his laughter and love of life – became a rabbi. Even as he pursued his studies, he found time to serve in the National Guard. The return of the body of the Unknown Soldier to Arlington National Cemetery had a profound effect on Goode. He attended the ceremonies, choosing to walk the 15 miles there and 15 miles back rather than take a car or a bus because he thought it showed more respect. Goode married his childhood sweetheart, and they had a daughter. He was serving a synagogue in York, Pa., when World War II broke out. One day, Mrs. Goode received a telegram from her husband that read, “Having a wonderful experience,” and she knew that her husband had found companions with whom he could share his faith and good humor.
Chaplain (Reverend) Clark V. Poling Mark Grapin Post 330, Culpeper 16th District Third Vice Commander Past District Chaplain
I light this candle in memory of Chaplain Clark V. Poling …
Clark Poling was the youngest of the Four Chaplains and the seventh generation in an unbroken line of ministers in the Dutch Reformed Church. When World War II broke out, he was anxious to go, but not as a chaplain. “I’m not going to hide behind the church in some safe office out of the firing line,” he told his father. The elder Poling replied, “Don’t you know that chaplains have the highest mortality rate of all? As a chaplain you’ll have the best chance in the world to be killed. You just can’t carry a gun to kill anyone yourself.” So, the young man left his pastorate in Schenectady, N.Y., and became an Army chaplain. Just before he sailed, Poling asked his father to pray for him – “not for my safe return. That wouldn’t be fair. Just pray that I shall do my duty … and have the strength, courage, and understanding of men. Just pray that I shall be adequate.” Indeed, he taught his men to not harbor personal hatred for the Germans and the Japanese. Hate the system that made your brother evil, he said. It is the system we must destroy.
Chaplain (Father) John P. Washington Dennis Corrigan Adjutant Post 1799 Haymarket
I light this candle in memory of Chaplain John P. Washington …
John Washington grew up in the toughest section of Newark, N.J., poor, scrappy, and determined. One of nine children born to an Irish immigrant family, he was blessed with a sunny disposition and a love for music. He also loved a good fight and was a member of the South 12th Street gang when he was called to the priesthood. He played ball with the boys of the parish, organized sports teams and when the war broke out, went with his “boys” into the Army. Raised in song and prayer to comfort those around him, Washington’s beautiful voice could be heard above the cries of the dying in his last moments on Feb. 3, 1943.
Offering for the Chapel of the Four Chaplains Steve Blackstone 16th District Deputy Finance Officer
GOD BLESS AMERICA All
God bless America, land that I love
Stand beside her and guide her,
Through the night with the light from above.
From the mountains to the prairies,
To the oceans white with foam,
God bless America, my home sweet home.
God bless America, land that I love
Stand beside her and guide her,
Through the night with the light from above.
From the mountains to the prairies,
To the oceans white with foam,
God bless America, my home sweet home.
From the mountains to the prairies,
To the oceans white with foam,
God bless America, my home sweet home,
God bless America, my home sweet home.
Benediction Closing Mark Grapin Post 330, Culpeper 16th District Third Vice Commander Past District Chaplain
“While The storm clouds gather far across the sea,
Let us swear allegiance to a land that’s free,
Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,
As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer.”