I found a treasure in a library book sale in Florida last
week. War Letters; Extraordinary Correspondence From American Wars.
Letters are preserved from the Civil War through Bosnia. Of particular interest
to me are those from the two world wars.
Among the World War II letters are two from Alexander Goode to
his sweetheart/wife. Although his name wasn’t familiar, I immediately recognized
his situation. He was one of the Four Chaplains.
In January, 1943, the Dorchester,
a coastal liner converted to a troop ship, carried 902 men to Europe. The small
convoy consisted of two other ships and three Coast Guard cutters. When the Dorchester and its companions were only
150 miles from its destination, they were discovered by a German wolf-pack.
At 12:55 a.m., February 3, 1943, a torpedo slammed into the
vessel, destroying the electrical system and creating panic.
Four chaplains were aboard the ship: one priest, one rabbi, and
two Protestant ministers. In the pandemonium, Lieutenants George L. Fox,
Alexander D. Good, Clark V. Poling, and John P. Washington calmed the men,
distributed life jackets, and directed them to the lifeboats. When they ran out
of vests, the chaplains removed their own and gave them to the soldiers.
Survivors watching the ship go down saw the four chaplains link
arms and brace themselves on the slanting deck. They could be heard praying.
In 1933, Alexander Goode recognized the danger for Jews in
Germany. He wrote to his sweetheart that Germany’s expulsion of Jews was their
loss and America’s gain. He believed there would be no difficulty in their entering
America. “This country will be glad to have them.”
I wonder what he thought as the years passed and no country wanted
to admit Jews.
Ten years later, he wrote a last farewell to his now-wife. “Don’t
worry—I’ll be coming back much sooner than you think.”
It was the last his wife ever heard from him.
Hi! Clark Poling was my Mother’s cousin. My grandmother was Irene Beck, wife of Edwin Beck. They were missionaries to China. Her brother was Dan Poling, Clark’s dad. Dan was a pastor of a huge Church in New York. I grew up hearing this story of the four chaplains My mother-in-law gave me the book: Sea Of Glory about the incident. The Navy put up a Stained glass with their pictures on it in a Chapel.There is a documentary that even our small town library has. It was very interesting.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing. I had heard this story before but did not realize a commemorative stamp was issued to honor them.
ReplyDeleteFascinating. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing. I wasn't familiar with the full story.
ReplyDelete