The Four chaplains

Robert L. Withers

February 7, 2026

 

“I’ve got a conference call this afternoon at 2:00, it’s concerning a memorial foundation I’m associated with back in Philly. I don’t suppose you’ve ever heard of it; it’s called The Four Chaplains.”

 

“Of course I know about the Four Chaplains, I was raised knowing about them,” I replied to my client Frank, who had lived in Philly before retiring to Richmond, VA.

 

When I was growing up in the D.C. area in the 50s and 60s, Washington City had a wax museum and among the exhibits were The Four Chaplains. I can still see the wax figures of Rev. George L. Fox (Methodist), Reform Rabbi Alexander D. Goode, Father John P. Washington (Roman Catholic), and Rev. Clark V. Poling (Reformed Church in America) standing together by the rail on the troop ship Dorchester, the water of the dark display lapping against the hull of the ship.

 

My mother made sure I knew the story, she made sure that I was not looking at entertainment but at sacrifice, at the way we were to live our lives. As I write this, I realize that all the trips we took to museums were about learning and exploring and understanding, understanding where we had come from and where we ought to be going. Understanding who we ought to be. To me, libraries and museums were sacred spaces, easily on par with the sanctuary of our Presbyterian church. The image of Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial, which I stood before in awe, was the image of God I had while being with Mom in church. I suppose Lincoln was an ikon to some degree.

 

The troopship was torpedoed on February 3, 1943, at 12:55 AM off Newfoundland. There were not enough life jackets for everyone, so these four young chaplains, from different backgrounds and traditions, gave their life vests to others. In the midst of confusion, chaos, and terror, these four men guided others to lifeboats, encouraging and comforting the frightened men around them…and then, having done all they could, linked arms together, stood together, prayed together and sang hymns…and died together.

 

Grady Clark, a survivor, wrote the following:

 

As I swam away from the ship, I looked back. The flares had lighted everything. The bow came up high and she slid under. The last thing I saw, the four chaplains were up there praying for the safety of the men. They had done everything they could. I did not see them again. They themselves did not have a chance without their life jackets.

 

William Bednar, a survivor said, "I could hear men crying, pleading, praying and swearing. I could also hear the chaplains preaching courage to the men. Their voices were probably the only things that kept me sane."

 

Having heard this story as a young boy, having seen it depicted in the wax museum as a lad, having a mother who emphasized the sacrificial nature of the story, and the fact that these men represented different traditions, it would be impossible to forget Fox, Goode, Washington, and Poling. It would be impossible to forget what unity in sacrifice can look like.

 

This past Tuesday I was thinking about the conversation with my former client, which took place about ten years ago. As I continued to think about the Four Chaplains on Wednesday, I decided to look up the foundation and refresh my memory. Then I saw that Tuesday, the day before when I had started thinking about them, February 3, was Four Chaplains Remembrance Day. I had no idea, no idea at all.

 

Dear friends, all around us is confusion and cursing and darkness, the question is not whether we have extra life vests to give to others, the question is whether we will give our own life jackets away.

 

“For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son…” (John 3:16).

 

“As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world” (John 17:18; 20:21).

 

“We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16).