On Memorial Day: remembering the "Four Chaplains"

A reader alerted me to this item in the Huffington Post, recalling the so-called “Immortal Chaplains” who went down with the USAT Dorchester in 1943.

As Wikipedia notes:

The “Immortal Chaplains” were four United States Army chaplains who gave their lives to save other civilian and military personnel during the sinking of the troop ship USAT Dorchester during World War II. They helped other soldiers board lifeboats and gave up their own life jackets when the supply ran out. The chaplains joined arms, said prayers, and sang hymns as they went down with the ship.

The four men were relatively new chaplains, who all held the rank of lieutenant. They included Methodist Reverend George L. Fox, Rabbi Alexander D. Goode, Roman Catholic Priest John P. Washington and Reformed Church in America Reverend Clark V. Poling. Their backgrounds, personalities, and faiths were different, although Goode, Poling and Washington had all served as leaders in the Boy Scouts of America.^[1] They would meet at the Army Chaplains School at Harvard University, where they would prepare for assignments in the European theater, sailing onboard USAT Dorchester to report to their new assignments.

But it turns out only three of the four now have a memorial at Arlington:

All four chaplains died together after giving their lifejackets to save others on board. Survivors of the attack witnessed the four praying together as the ship went down in the icy waters. Yet the names of only three of these fallen heroes are presently memorialized on Chaplain’s Hill at Arlington National Cemetery. In fact, none of the 13 Jewish chaplains who have died in service to our country are listed on the three chaplains’ monuments in our nation’s most sacred resting place.

The author goes on to describe the efforts to have Rabbi Goode’s name added to Chaplain’s Hill — along with other Jewish chaplains.  Read the rest. This is an oversight — and an injustice — that should be corrected.

May all those who have served so selflessly rest in peace.  And may we never forget what they gave for us.