Legion Chaplain Bruce Heisey leads an opening procession of area veterans in Sunday’s Four Chaplains Service at Congregational Church in Manchester-by-the-Sea.
This is not a typical veteran-related time of year, yet on Sunday a solemn and inspiring ceremony quietly took place Sunday at the Congregational Church downtown in Manchester-by-the-Sea.
Approximately 75 family and friends attended the interfaith ceremony led by Legion executive members from the area, primarily from Manchester and Beverly. A meal followed for all at the Amaral Bailey Legion Hall behind the Town Hall.
This year’s “Four Chaplains Sunday” marked the 76th anniversary of the day the SS Dorchester carrying 902 men sank after being hit by a German U-boat, in which four WWII Army chaplains removed their own lifejackets so others could be saved, choosing to go down with the 672 men who perished that day. The massive ship sank in just 20 minutes on February 3, 1943.
The ceremony itself was moving, paying tribute to each chaplain and detailing the unified heroism of these four men of different faiths. They were Lt. Alexander D. Goode, a Jewish rabbi; Lt. George L. Fox, a Methodist minister; Lt. John P. Washington, a Roman Catholic priest; and Lt. Clark V. Poling, a Dutch Reformed pastor.
The four met in training and became friends at Chaplains School at Harvard University. They were reunited on board the Dorchester.
The ship was left Boston Harbor in Together, they gave up the life jackets they wore, giving them to the young soldiers who were next in line before staying behind. Survivors reported hearing the men's prayers of comfort from the lifeboats as they watched the Dorchester tip and then sink.
Ceremony emphasized unified in Valor and ethics and faith. Their differences in faiths, did not matter. This story would be a wonderful message at any time.
Today, it is a particularly apt one.
