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VOL. 3/ISSUE 14
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2015
Four honored with Four Chaplains Legion of Honor Award Mary Kemper STAFF WRITER
mkemper@veteranvoiceweekly.com
At Faith Congregational Church, Port St. Lucie, Feb. 1, past Four Chaplains Legion of Honor Award recipients helped induct four new awardees into their ranks for 2014. Based on their service as veterans or their services to the community, or both, they include Charlie Klass, Kate and Steven Torick and Vince LaValle. They were chosen under the sponsorship of the United Veterans of St. Lucie County, under guidelines established by the national Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation. The award was named for four Army chaplains who were aboard a transport ship, the USAT Dorchester, along with 900 other soldiers, merchant mariners and civilian workers, on Feb. 3, 1943, bound for the United Kingdom. The ship was torpedoed by a German U-boat, the U-223, and sank in just under 18 minutes. Before she sank, there was complete chaos among those aboard the ship after taking the hit. Everyone was trying to climb the narrow ladders at once, and there were many wounded. Immediately, the four chaplains, all first lieutenants — Rabbi Alexander Goode, Father John Washington, and the Revs. George Fox, Methodist, and Clarke Poling, Dutch Reformed Church — sprang into action, directing traffic, calming the frightened young troops, making sure the wounded were cared for and handing out life jackets. When it was clear there weren’t enough life jackets to go around, all four took off their own and “It was the finest thing I have seen or hope to see this side of heaven.” John Ladd, survivor of the sinking of the USAT Dorchester, on the actions of the four chaplains after the ship was torpedoed
Staff photo by Mary Kemper Four recipients of the Four Chaplains Award were named at a ceremony Feb. 1 at Faith Congregational Church in Port St. Lucie, sponsored by the United Veterans of St. Lucie County. They include, from left, Charlie Klass; Kate Torick, who also accepted an award on behalf of her husband, Steve; and Vince LaValle. handed them to other troops. Goode stopped Petty Officer John Mahoney, who wanted to retrieve his gloves — knowing he was about to plunge into icy water — and gave the soldier his “spare pair” of gloves. In retrospect, Mahoney said he knew Goode only had one pair of gloves, and that he didn’t intend to leave the ship. Only about 200 people were able to board two lifeboats. The rest of the boats were frozen solid to the ship’s deck. The last thing several witnesses saw was the four chaplains, their arms linked, singing and praying each in his own language, Hebrew, Latin or English. “It was the finest thing I have seen or hope to see this side of heaven,” said John Ladd, another survivor. It was those selfless acts of heroism that inspired the Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation, which seeks to honor all
those who serve their communities without any regard to religion, creed or national origin — “unity without uniformity” is its motto. The award is given to recipients nationwide, as near to the same date as the original sinking of the Dorchester as possible. The Port St. Lucie ceremony featured a musical prelude by Debbie Mock, Pat Viada and one of the 2014 recipients, Kate Torick. Past recipient Ron Knepshield, representing the American Military Retirees Association, served as master of ceremonies. After the Pledge of Allegiance and the national anthem, an invocation and collect was given by the Rev. Rob Hunter, of Faith Congregational Church, who also gave welcoming remarks, after which “America the
See CHAPLAINS page 3