[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 169 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 169

       To designate February 3, 1998, as ``Four Chaplains Day''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 27, 1998

  Mr. Hatch (for himself, Mr. Grams, Mr. Torricelli, Mr. D'Amato, Mr. 
   Wellstone, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Bond, Mr. Moynihan, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. 
 Abraham, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. Hutchinson, and Mr. Daschle) 
 submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
       To designate February 3, 1998, as ``Four Chaplains Day''.

Whereas February 3, 1998, is the 55th anniversary of the sinking of the United 
        States Army transport Dorchester, an event that resulted in the loss of 
        nearly 700 lives in 1943 and for which witnesses have recounted in the 
        Congressional Record the heroism of 4 chaplains of different faiths, 
        Lieutenant George L. Fox, Methodist; Lieutenant Alexander D. Goode, 
        Jewish; Lieutenant John P. Washington, Catholic; and Lieutenant Clark V. 
        Poling, Dutch Reformed;
Whereas witnesses have verified that during the approximate 18 minutes the ship 
        was sinking after being torpedoed off the coast of Greenland, the 4 
        chaplains went from soldier to soldier calming fears and handing out 
        life jackets and guiding men to safety and when there were no more life 
        jackets, they removed their own life jackets and gave them to others to 
        save their lives and were last seen arm-in-arm in prayer on the hull of 
        the ship;
Whereas many of the 230 men who survived owed their lives to these 4 chaplains, 
        and witnesses among them recounted the unique ecumenical spirit and love 
        for their fellow man these 4 demonstrated that were later illustrated in 
        a popular postage stamp issued by the United States in 1948 with the 
        title ``Interfaith in Action'';
Whereas Congress passed House Concurrent Resolution 90 in 1957 to honor these 4 
        chaplains and the men who died with them, and President Truman and 
        President Eisenhower issued similar proclamations calling for national 
        recognition and participation in memorial services throughout the land 
        that have been observed annually by the American Legion on the first 
        Sunday in February;
Whereas Congress undertook to create a special medal for valor given to the 
        memory of the 4 chaplains in 1960 and never to be repeated; and
Whereas memorials to the chaplains' heroic sacrifice abound in many places 
        throughout the country including the Heroes Window in the National 
        Cathedral in Washington, D.C.: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) requests the President of the United States to issue a 
        proclamation designating February 3, 1998, as ``Four Chaplains 
        Day''; and
            (2) invites the people of the United States, of all 
        religions and creeds and in all communities, to observe this 
        date with appropriate ceremonies, celebrations, and 
        commemorations.
                                 <all>