Early one February morning in 1943, the U.S. troop transport Dorchester was wallowing through icy seas off Greenland. Most of the 900 troops on board were asleep in their bunks. Suddenly a torpedo smashed into the Dorchester's thin flank. Frantically pounding up the ladders, the troops milled in confusion on the unfamiliar decks.
In those dark moments of panic, the coolest men aboard were four U.S. Army chaplains—1st Lieuts. Clark V. Poling (Reformed Church in America), Alexander D. Goode (Jewish), John P. Washington (Catholic), George L. Fox (Methodist). The four chaplains led the men to boxes of life jackets, passed them out...
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