Albuquerque VA chapel renamed in honor of four heroic chaplains

In February, the chapel at the New Mexico VA Health Care System in Albuquerque was officially renamed to pay homage to four heroic World War II chaplains.

In the photo above, Chaplain Arthur Nyanfor (left) and Executive Director Robert McKenrick officially unveil the new name of the chapel at New Mexico VA.

The SS Dorchester was a coastal passenger steamship requisitioned and operated by the War Shipping Administration in 1942 for wartime use as a troop ship. On Jan. 23, 1943, Dorchester left New York bound for the Army Command Base at Narsarsuaq in southern Greenland.

There were about 900 people onboard, including the four relatively new Army chaplains. Each represented a different faith. Alexander Goode was Jewish, Clark Poling was Baptist, George Fox was Methodist, and John Washington was Catholic.

Ship sank 20 minutes after torpedo strike

During the early morning hours of Feb. 3, 1943, Dorchester was torpedoed by German submarine U-223. The damage was extensive and, with the boiler power lost, there was inadequate steam to sound the full six-whistle signal to abandon ship. Dorchester sank by the bow in about 20 minutes.

Loss of power prevented the crew from sending a radio distress signal, so no rockets or flares were launched to alert the escorts. A severe list prevented the launch of some port side lifeboats. Some lifeboats capsized through overcrowding.

Although all hands had been ordered to wear their lifejackets at all times due to the possibility of this very scenario, most of the men had discarded them as uncomfortable and most likely unneeded.

Chaplains sang hymns as ship sank

The chaplains distributed what lifejackets were available, but the supply ran out before each man had one. The four chaplains removed their lifejackets and gave them to those who didn’t have one. Simultaneously, they continued to help disoriented men into available lifeboats.

Without floatation devices and no room in any of the now launched lifeboats, the chaplains linked arms, prayed and sang hymns as the ship slipped beneath the icy North Atlantic. More than 600 lost their lives that night—including all four chaplains.

The sinking of SS Dorchester was the worst single loss of American personnel of any American convoy during World War II.

Albuquerque VA’s Dorchester chapel honors the four chaplains who gave their lives to help save others. In 1988, Congress established Feb. 3 as “Four Chaplains Day” to commemorate their act of heroism.

The ceremony at the Albuquerque VA was held 80 years to the day when the Dorchester sank.