American Legion Post 75, Gloucester, is sponsoring a Four Chaplains observance at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4, at the First United Baptist Church, Route 17, Gloucester. The Rev. Kenneth Waclo, pastor of Bellamy United Methodist Church, and U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Sector Hampton Roads lay leader, will be the guest speaker.
Members of DAV Chapter 58, VFW Post 8252, and Marine Corps League Middle Peninsula Detachment 1317 will participate.
The Four Chaplains, also referred to as the “Immortal Chaplains” or the “Dorchester Chaplains” were the four United States Army chaplains who gave their lives to save other civilian and military personnel as the troop ship SS Dorchester sank on Feb. 3, 1943 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 public is invited to attend this ceremony. At the end of ...