Four Immortal Chaplains

By: Dan Meyer

The office hours for the Big Stone County Veterans Service Office are 7:30 am – 4:00 pm Monday through Friday. My office phone number is (320) 839-6398.

A "Veteran" -- whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve -- is someone who, at one point in his or her life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America," for an amount of "up to, and including his or her life."

Something to think about - The Four Immortal Chaplains.

Four Chaplains made the supreme sacrifice February 3, 1943 in the sinking of the troopship SS Dorchester in the North Atlantic by a German Submarine. These four men of God, all First Lieutenants of the US Army Chaplain Corps saved many lives and then took their own life jackets off and gave them to four soldiers and told them to abandon ship saving their lives. Then with arms linked together in prayer the two Protestants, the Roman Catholic and the Rabbi praying together went down with the ship. In the aftermath, 669 members of the 1000 member crew of the Dorchester also lost their lives.

Here are the four heroes: Rev. George Lansing Fox, born November 15, 1900 in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, Methodist (WWI & WWII); Rev. Clark Vandersall Poling, born August 7, 1910 in Columbus, Ohio, Dutch Reformed Church (WWII); Father John Patrick Washington, born July 16, 1918 in Newark, New Jersey, Roman Catholic (WWII); and Rabbi Alexander David Goode, born May 10, 1911 in New York City, New York, Jewish (WWII).

In more news.

Interested in kayaking Wisconsin's Apostle Islands, or canoeing in Minnesota's Boundary Waters? Outward Bound is providing a limited number of free all-expenses paid wilderness expeditions to OIF/OEF Veterans and service members. For information and to sign up, visit, www.OutwardBound.org/veterans or call 1(866) 669-2362 ext. 8387.

2010 Minnesota Expeditions: June 7-13 Boundary Waters Canoe Trip (Registration closes May 7); July 22-27 Apostle Island Sea Kayaking (Registration closes June 22); Aug. 9-15 Boundary Waters Canoe Trip (Registration closes July 9).

Until next week, take care and “Fair Winds and Following Seas!”