Articles

Four Chaplains

Just after midnight on February 3, 1943, the American transport Dorchester, carrying nearly a thousand men, was sunk by a German U-boat.

02/3/23

John Stonestreet

Timothy D Padgett

Just after midnight on February 3, 1943, the American transport Dorchester, carrying nearly a thousand men, was sunk by a German U-boat. Within 20 minutes of being hit, she was beneath the waves, along with over 600 of those on board. 

In the midst of the chaos, four chaplains, one Reformed, one Roman Catholic, one Methodist, and one Jewish, took their place, not in the lifeboats, but in offering comfort to scared and dying men. Rather than abandon their shipmates to an inescapable fate, they gave up their life vests to those who lacked them and were last seen, arms linked, offering prayers for the safety of others. 

If this world is all there is, these men were fools. The only thing that could possibly make a sacrifice like theirs worth it is if there’s something or Someone beyond this life to live for. If there is, then there’s nothing more important than discovering Who or what it is. 

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