| Welcoming Rabbi Jeffrey Astrachan |
February 7, 2012 |
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Todd Platts, R-PA
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"Mr. Speaker, I am honored to host our guest chaplain, Rabbi Jeffrey Astrachan, to give today’s opening prayer. Rabbi Astrachan is here today to help honor the sacrifice of the four chaplains who gave their lives during the sinking of the troop ship Dorchester during World War II. This is especially significant because one of the four chaplains, Lieutenant Alexander D. Goode, was once a rabbi with the same congregation in York, Pennsylvania, my hometown that Rabbi Astrachan now serves."
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| Four Chaplains |
February 7, 2012 |
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Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-FL
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"Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the incredible story of the USAT Dorchester’s four chaplains. The brave “immortal chaplains,” a Jewish rabbi, a Catholic priest, and two Protestant ministers, selflessly provided comfort and guidance to their interfaith community aboard the transport ship as it sunk into icy waters on February 3, 1943. These leaders of different faiths gave up their lifejackets and stood strong, singing prayers and hymns, sharing words of healing and peace as the ship went down."
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| Remembering Four Chaplains Of The Usat “Dorchester” |
February 7, 2012 |
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Bill Nelson, D-FL
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"The Dorchester began to take on water and would sink beneath the freezing ocean in under 25 minutes. Many had been killed or injured in the initial blast, and panic set in as the passengers and crew attempted to find life vests and get into lifeboats. Many of the surviving passengers recall the calm disposition of the four chaplains who made their way to a storage locker and handed out lifejackets. When there were no more lifejackets, the chaplains removed their own and gave them to four passengers who were without. Rabbi Goode was seen giving away his only pair of gloves, and throughout the chaos and panic survivors could hear the chaplains preaching courage as the ship went down."
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