[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 9, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E175-E177]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
IN HONOR AND FAITH: RECOGNIZING THE HEROISM OF THE IMMORTAL FOUR
CHAPLAINS
______
HON. BRUCE F. VENTO
of minnesota
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, February 9, 1999
Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and commend the
Immortal Four Chaplains' heroism and legacy that serve as an example to
the lives of individuals who have stood up courageously in the face of
hatred and prejudice to protect others.
On February 3, 1943, the U.S.A.T. Dorchester was struck by a torpedo
from a German U-boat off the shores of Greenland. Nearly 700 people
perished in the icy waters of the North Atlantic. Four Army Chaplains
showed extraordinary faith and personal sacrifice by calming fears,
handing out life jackets, and guiding men to safety. Many of the 230
men who survived owed their lives to these Four Chaplains.
This historic event and circumstances has received recognition in the
past with Congressional Resolutions and a postage stamp issuance
commemorating the heralded event. At this point, however, memories have
understandably faded. This heroic act and example could serve as a
focal point today drawing together Americans of varied faiths and
ethnic backgrounds positively reflecting upon challenging America's
cultural pluralism and diversity. The lesson of mutual respect,
tolerance, and sacrifice need to be learned anew by each generation of
Americans. The Four Chaplains stand out as an extraordinary human
experience, relevant yesterday and today.
Set against the example of the Immortal Four Chaplains, the Immortal
Four Chaplains Foundation was formed to provide a platform to tell the
stories of those who have risked their lives to save others of a
different race or faith. The Minnesota based foundation was founded in
1997 by the nephew and daughter of two of the Chaplains and has drawn
the support and participation of former Vice President Walter Mondale,
former Senator Bob Dole, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and many other
prominent leaders, including survivors of the German U-boat 223 which
sank the Dorchester.
On Sunday, February 7th, 1999, in Minnesota, I had the honor of
jointly awarding Archbishop Desmond Tutu with the first Immortal
Chaplains prize for Humanity. On his first trip to Minnesota, the
Archbishop, whose rise to worldwide leadership in defending the rights
of the oppressed, first drew attention from his driving voice against
Apartheid while Nelson Mandela was imprisoned in South Africa. As the
Angelican Archbishop of that country, Tutu received the Nobel Peace
Prize in 1984 for his courageous stand against great odds. On his
retirement as Archbishop of Cape Town, he was appointed by President
Nelson Mandela to chair the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This
commission has performed an historic role and precedent in revealing
the truth about atrocities committed in the past and providing the
means of peaceful resolutions for the pain and humiliation suffered by
that nation. Today, he continues to champion the plight of social
justice.
I would like to acknowledge other recipients of the Immortal
Chaplains Prize for Humanity that were awarded posthumously, U.S. Coast
Guard Stewardsmate Charles W. David, an African-American who lost his
life as a result of rescuing survivors of the Dorchester on which the
Chaplains and some 700 individuals perished and Amy Biehl, an
outstanding young American Fulbright Scholar who was stoned to death in
South Africa in 1993, where she had gone to help struggle against
Apartheid. A crew member and buddy of Stewardsmate David accepted the
award on his behalf and
[[Page E176]]
Linda and Peter Biehl accepted this humanitarian award in her spirit
and name. Amy's parents have made a point of returning to South Africa
to participate in the ``Peace and Reconciliation Process'' and are
incredibly forgiving of their daughter's assailants.
I would like to share with all Members an article in the Pioneer
Press on Sunday, February 7, 1999 of relevant importance.
Award Recalls Chaplains' Heroism at Sea--Archbishop Tutu Will Bestow
Two Honors in Sunday Ceremony
(By Maja Beckstrom)
David Fox knows only the barest details of his uncle's
martyrdom at sea.
In the middle of the night on Feb. 3, 1943, a German
torpedo blasted a hole in the side of the U.S. Army troopship
Dorchester just off Greenland. As the ship sank, the Rev.
George Fox stood on the oil-slick deck passing out life
jackets to panicked men. After giving away his own preserver,
the Methodist minister clasped the arms of the ship's other
three chaplains--a rabbi, Catholic priest and Dutch Reformed
minister. Survivors saw them standing in prayer as the
Dorchester rolled to starboard and slipped under the waves.
They were among the 672 men who died that night in what was
one of the United States' greatest maritime losses during
World War II.
Now a half century later, their sacrifice on the icy North
Atlantic is bringing a modern day hero to Minnesota.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a leader of South Africa's anti-
apartheid movement, will present the first annual award given
in the four chaplains' memory at a ceremony Sunday in
Minnetonka.
The Immortal Chaplains Prize for Humanity honors someone
who has risked his or her life to protect others of a
different race or faith. It was created by David Fox of
Hopkins, the Rev. George Fox's nephew.
After the war, the chaplains became legends. Their faces
graced a 1948 stamp. Memorials were built around the country,
including at the Fort Snelling Chapel and the chapel at the
V.A. Medical Center in Minneapolis.
``I had grown up with the story and perhaps taken it for
granted,'' said Fox. ``Suddenly it occurred to me that it was
fast disappearing. Most people I met had never heard of it.''
In an effort to save the chaplains' example as an
inspiration to future generations, Fox interviewed the ship's
survivors, established the Immortal Chaplains Foundation and
created curriculum for school children. He even enlisted the
support of crew members from the German U-boat that sunk his
uncle's ship.
``It's too important a story to let go, because of what it
says about the potential for human compassion to cross all
boundaries,'' he said. ``Being a hero is about protecting
fellow humans, putting your life on the line if necessary to
protect them.''
The tragedy
Everyone on board the Dorchester knew they were heading
into dangerous waters. U-boats constantly prowled the sea
lanes of the North Atlantic, and several ships had already
been sunk. The ship sailed from Staten Island on Jan. 22,
1943. After stopping in Newfoundland, it continued with an
escort of three U.S. Coast Guard cutters. On board were 902
men, mostly soldiers on their way to work on U.S. Army bases
in Greenland.
On Feb. 2, one of the cutters relayed a warning. Sonar had
picked up five U-boats.
``The captain said if we made it through the night, we'd
have air protection the next morning from Greenland,''
recalled survivor Ben Epstein of Del Ray Beach, Fla. ``He
said sleep with everything you have--your clothes, your
gloves, your life preserver.''
They didn't make it. At 1 a.m., a torpedo ripped a hole in
the Dorchester's starboard side, from the deck to below the
water line. Survivor James Eardley of Westerlo, N.Y., said
the thud sounded ``like someone hit their fist against a
wall.'' Men near the explosion died instantly. Panicked
survivors scrambled for the upper decks in pitch blackness.
The torpedo had taken out power. Eardley pushed his way from
the hold up the only unblocked exit, holding a handkerchief
over his mouth to avoid ammonia fumes from a refrigeration
explosion.
Epstein, who was staying in a stateroom on an upper deck,
felt his way along a railing until he came to a hanging rope
that marked a lifeboat. He shouted to his best friend Vincent
Frucelli to follow him down.
``He said he would,'' Epstein said. ``But that was the last
time I saw him. I don't know how he died. In blackness,
jumping toward the water, it was a terrible thing.''
Epstein was thrown into the sea when his lifeboat capsized.
He swam until he was pulled onto another lifeboat. Only two
of 14 lifeboats successfully pulled away from the ship. Men
bobbed in the icy water, dying or dead from exposure. The red
light attached to each life preserver made the ship look like
it was ``lit up like a Christmas tree,'' said Epstein.
Eardley also was pulled into a boat, after he climbed down
the side of the ship on a cargo net. Both men were rescued
hours later by a Coast Guard cutter. Near death, they were
stripped and laid out on tables in the galley where men
massaged their frozen limbs back to life. The ship sank in 20
minutes, and only 230 men survived.
To this day, Eardley remembers his last glimpse of the
Dorchester.
``The keel was up,'' Eardley said, ``And I could see the
four chaplains standing on top of the boat, arm in arm.''
According to survivors' testimony, the chaplains spent
their last minutes calming disoriented and terrified men and
urging them to jump into the sea. Each chaplain gave his life
preserver away. They were Lt. George Fox, Methodist, Lt.
Alexander Goode, Jewish; Lt. John Washington, Roman Catholic;
and Lt. Clark Poling, Dutch Reformed.
``To take off your life preserver, it meant you gave up
your life,'' said Epstein, who plans to attend the ceremony.
``You would have no chance of surviving. They knew they were
finished. But they gave it away. Consider that. Over the
years I've asked myself this question a thousand times. Could
I do it? No I don't think I could do it. Just consider what
an act of heroism they performed.''
The quest for survivors
David Fox had always taken his uncle's heroism for granted.
Then in the mid-1990s, while he was working to raise money
for a veterans hospice, he suddenly realized that when the
Dorchester's survivors died, the story would be lost for
good. He decided to track down as many as he could and record
their memories. His quest soon gained urgency.
``I heard about a survivor in Iowa, by the time I called,
he had been dead for six months,'' Fox said. ``I heard about
a friend of Rabbi Goode here, in Mendota Heights. I called up
and he had died a month ago. I thought, this is crazy. These
people are dying, and no one has recorded their
stories.'' Armed with $1,100 in grants from several
veterans organizations, Fox rented a video camera and hit
the road in 1996 with his young son.
They interviewed 20 of the 28 known Dorchester survivors,
traveling to upstate New York, Florida, Massachusetts,
California and Illinois. He also contacted the chaplains'
family members, including his cousin Wyatt, the son of George
Fox, and the widow and daughter of Rabbi Goode. Rosalie Goode
Fried, who was three when her father died, enthusiastically
supported Fox's idea of starting a foundation that would
perpetuate her father's memory.
``If kids could realize that here were four men of
different religions who could get along and minister to each
other. It sends a message, why can't we just get along?''
said Fried, who is flying from New Jersey for the ceremony.
Fox also decided the story would be incomplete without the
German perspective. With the help of German relatives, he
traced the chief munitions engineer, the chief of operations
and a ship's officer from U-boat 223. None had any idea what
they had hit that dark night in 1943.
``Imagine having somebody knock on your door 55 years later
and say, `Hi, you killed my uncle.' Well I didn't say it
exactly like that. But they couldn't escape it,'' said Fox.
``They had to face what happened and they had really no
idea.''
The new submarine had been sent out from Kiel, Germany, on
Jan. 12, 1943, to hunt Allied vessels in the North Sea. In
the wee hours of Feb. 3, the captain spotted the dark hulk of
the Dorchester from the tower and ordered a fan of three
torpedoes. To avoid detection after the hit, the sub
submerged 130 feet, where it stayed for the next six hours.
The crew was later captured near Sicily and sent as prisoners
to Mississippi.
``When I interviewed the Germans they said, `You must
understand, we were doing our duty,' '' said Fox. ``They were
18 years old. I almost cried when I saw their photos. They
were just kids in hats.''
The Germans were touched by the story of the chaplains and
quickly offered to support the fledgling Immortal Chaplains
Foundation. The effort to establish the foundation hasn't
been without some controversy. The Chapel of the Four
Chaplains in Philadelphia, which is raising money to build a
permanent memorial to the chaplains, has sued Fox's group to
block its use of the clerics' image from the stamp and the
phrase, the Four Chaplains.
Fox also enlisted the support of Walter Mondale, who serves
as the foundation's honorary co-chair. Fox also contacted
Archbishop Desmond Tutu in South Africa, who agreed to
become the foundation's patron.
``He was immediately taken with it,'' said Fox.
Tutu will bestow the foundation's first awards on Sunday at
Adath Jeshurun Congregation, in what Fox hopes will become an
annual event, similar to the awarding of the Nobel Peace
Prize. The ceremony itself will be interfaith. The U.S.
Army's Muslim chaplain will say a prayer. American Indians
from Minnesota will offer Tutu a welcome, and the ceremony
will close with prayers from Tibetan Buddhist monks.
One award will be bestowed posthumously on an African-
American Coast Guardsman named Charles W. David, who died as
a result of rescuing men from the Dorchester. The other award
will be accepted by Linda and Peter Biehl of southern
California on behalf of their daughter Amy, who was stabbed
to death in South Africa. Biehl was a Stanford University
student and Fulbright scholar helping to set up a legal
education center.
``I want this to become something like the Nobel Peace
Prize, except for ordinary people,'' said Fox. ``Every year,
I want to reach
[[Page E177]]
down and find someone who is making a difference. Maybe it's
a Bosnian Serb who saves a Muslim, or vice versa. Or a
Palestinian who reaches out to an Israeli. We need to honor
these people who have risked everything to help someone
different from themselves.''
____________________