American Legion Post 75, Gloucester, will host a Four Chaplains service beginning at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 3 at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, 6470 Main Street, Gloucester.
The Rev. Vincent Pryor, pastor of New Mount Zion Baptist Church, Gloucester, will be the guest speaker. Music will be provided by the Gloucester Mathews Men’s Chorus.
The service marks the 81th anniversary of the sinking of the U.S. Army Transport Dorchester and the sacrifice of four chaplains in saving the lives of their fellow soldiers aboard the troop ship.
Chaplains George L. Fox, Alexander D. Goode, Clark L. Polling and John P. Washington handed out life jackets, and eventually gave away their own, after the Dorchester was struck by a German torpedo in icy waters off Greenland on Feb. 2, 1943. As the ship went down, survivors in nearby lifeboats saw the four chaplains, linked arm-in-arm on the deck, praying together. Of the 902 aboard the Dorchester that night, 230 survived.
In December 1944, the four ...