2023 -- S 0057
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S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023
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S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N
COMMEMORATING THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE "FOUR CHAPLAINS", THE
FOUR MEN OF GOD WHO SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES DURING WORLD WAR II SO
THAT OTHERS MIGHT LIVE
Introduced By: Senators Raptakis, Rogers, Burke, E Morgan, Felag, and Sosnowski
Date Introduced: January 31, 2023
Referred To: Placed on the Senate Consent Calendar
WHEREAS, Just past midnight on February 3, 1943, the SS Dorchester, a United States 1
Army Troop ship laden with 900 troops, seamen and civilians, was passing through the brutally 2
cold waters of the North Atlantic, on its way to deliver support and materials to Allied bases in 3
Greenland. At 12:55 a.m., the SS Dorchester, located 100 miles from Greenland, was hit by a 4
torpedo fired from a German U-Boat. The massive explosion tore through the ship, causing an 5
immediate loss of life. The SS Dorchester began to list with water gushing into the lower decks of 6
the ship; and 7
WHEREAS, Those who survived the blast were quickly in a state of panic and confusion. 8
Hundreds of survivors hurried towards the deck and then struggled to find the lifeboats as the ship 9
began to sink. Few of the men were wearing life vests, and knew that the frigid waters of the 10
Atlantic below them meant an almost certain death; and 11
WHEREAS, In the midst of this chaos four Chaplains, George Fox, a Methodist Minister, 12
Alexander Goode, a Jewish Rabbi, Clark Poling, a Dutch Reformed Minister, and John 13
Washington, a Roman Catholic Priest, all First Lieutenants, rushed forward to help their fellow 14
shipmates. They began distributing the limited number of available life jackets and when it 15
became clear that there were not enough available life jackets, they gave up their own so that 16
others might live. They remained on deck until the end, assisting others, and were four of the 670 17
people who perished; and 18
WHEREAS, After the war, numerous memorials were created to honor these four 19
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Chaplains. A stained glass window in the Pentagon Chapel is dedicated to their memory. In 1960, 1
Congress passed a law authorizing the President to posthumously award a decoration for 2
extraordinary heroism to the four Chaplains in honor of their actions. The Four Chaplains' Medal 3
was presented to their next of kin in 1961. They are also honored with inscriptions upon the Walls 4
of the Missing at an ABMC memorial, the place where the American government honors all 5
service members who were lost at sea. Finally, in the Battery on the southern tip of Manhattan 6
Island, stands the East Coast Memorial. On this site, overlooking New York Harbor, eight large 7
pylons stand with the names and service information of the 4,611 Americans, including the Four 8
Chaplains, who perished in the western waters of the Atlantic Ocean during World War II; now, 9
therefore be it 10
RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby commemorates the 11
80th Anniversary of the "Four Chaplains", the four men of God who sacrificed their lives during 12
World War II so that others might live; and be it further 13
RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to 14
transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to Mr. Kasim J. Yarn, Director of the Rhode 15
Island Department of Veterans Affairs and Jane Deptula, Rhode Island Marine Corps League 16
Chaplain. 17
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