Remembering The Four Chaplains

 

A friend of mine reminded me that yesterday, Feb 3rd, was the anniversary of the sinking of the US troopship Dorchester during World War Two in 1943.  This incident made famous the story of the Four Chaplains, a Rabbi, a Roman Catholic priest, and two ministers  (Methodist and a Dutch Reformed).  The story of how they gave up their lifejackets and were last seen, praying and singing as the ship sank in the frigid North Atlantic, is told here.

An American scholar, Kevin M. Schultz (Tri-Faith America:  How Catholics and Jews Held Postwar America to Its Protestant Promise (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011), has noted how this story of cooperation was turned into a symbol of religious pluralism in postwar America by those who wanted Catholics and Jews to enjoy the same privileges as Protestants.   One of the Hollywood studios even considered making a film about the story, but to my knowledge it was never made.

The Four Chaplains are icons of selfless service and interfaith comradeship for all military chaplains.

MP+

(See 

 Kevin M. Schultz, Tri-Faith America:  How Catholics and Jews Held Postwar America to Its Protestant Promise (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011), 5