TOPSHAM — Local American Legion posts will open a special, annual military service to the public Sunday.

Held in remembrance of four chaplains who gave their lives helping occupants of a sinking military ship escape to safety on lifeboats, the “Four Chaplains Memorial Service” will take place at 2 p. m. Sunday at American Legion Memorial Post 202 on Foreside Road.

The Topsham post, joined by Post 20 in Brunswick and Post 171 in Harpswell, will host the observance.

Sunday’s program will include an account of the story of the four chaplains, as well as a eulogy for the four men. The special guest will be Lt. Bernard Welch, formerly of the U.S. Navy’s Chaplain Corps.

Rev. Welch, who served for many years as the Catholic chaplain at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station, now is with affiliated All Saints Parish.

Heroic saga

The U.S. Army Transporter Dorchester, once a luxury coastal liner, was carrying 902 servicemen, merchant seamen and civilian workers the evening of Feb. 2, 1943.

The Dorchester was bound for an American base in Greenland, escorted by three Coast Guard cutters, one of which detected German Uboats prowling the waters, according to an account of the incident written by Victor M. Parachin and posted at www.fourchaplains.org.

Within 15 miles of their destination, the men on the Dorchester were ordered to sleep in their clothing and wear life jackets. Many soldiers ignored that order.

At 12:55 a.m. the next day, a German submarine shot torpedoes at the Dorchester. They struck the starboard side of the vessel, and within 27 minutes, the ship would sink below the surface of the icy Atlantic Ocean.

According to Parachin’s story, “panic and chaos had set in. The blast had killed scores of men and many more were seriously wounded.”

Men jumped ship into lifeboats, which became overcrowded and nearly capsized. Other rafts drifted away before soldiers could get in them.

“Through the pandemonium, according to those present, four Army chaplains brought hope in despair and light in darkness,” Parachin wrote. “Those chaplains were Lt. George L. Fox, Methodist; Lt. Alexander D. Goode, Jewish; Lt. John P. Washington, Roman Catholic; and Lt. Cark V. Poling, Dutch Reformed.”

The four chaplains reportedly tried to calm frightened soldiers, tend to the wounded and guide disoriented men to safety.

“Witnesses of that terrible night remember hearing the four men offer prayers for the dying and encouragement for those who would live,” said Wyatt R. Fox, son of one of the four chaplains, according to Parachin.

Parachin wrote that Petty Officer John J. Mahoney tried to go back to his cabin “but was stopped by Rabbi Goode. Mahoney, concerned about the cold Arctic air, explained he had forgotten his gloves. ‘Never mind,’ Goode responded. ‘ I have two pairs.’ The rabbi then gave the petty officer his own gloves. In retrospect, Mahoney realized that Rabbi Goode was not conveniently carrying to pairs of gloves, and that the rabbi had decided not to leave the Dorchester.”

When lifejackets ran out, the chaplains removed their own lifejackets and gave them to four frightened young men. As the ship went down, “survivors in nearby rafts could see the four chaplains — arms linked and braced against the slanting deck.”

Of the 902 men aboard the USAT Dorchester, 672 died — including 33 men from Maine — and 230 survived. Americans were stunned by the magnitude of the tragedy but also by the heroic conduct of the four chaplains when they learned of the event, Parachin wrote.

Fox, Goode, Poling and Washington were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and Purple Heart posthumously on Dec. 19, 1944. Due to the strict heroism under fire restriction to be eligible for a Medal of Honor, Congress instead authorized a one-time only Chaplain’s Medal for Heroism on July 14, 1960. The award was presented to the chaplains’ next of kin on Jan. 18, 1961, according to the American Legion.

In 1948, Congress declared Feb. 3 to be Four Chaplains Day. Every year, American Legion posts nationwide remember Four Chaplains Day with memorial services.

dmoore@timesrecord.com