[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 5, 2014)]
[House]
[Page H1602]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           THE FOUR CHAPLAINS

  (Mr. STIVERS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. STIVERS. Mr. Speaker, this week marks the 71st anniversary of a 
dramatic sacrifice made by four U.S. Army chaplains during World War II 
on February 3, 1943. On that day, the USS Dorchester was torpedoed by a 
German submarine, and it sunk. Out of that tragedy came the story of 
the four chaplains.
  Four U.S. Army chaplains of different faiths--one rabbi, one Roman 
Catholic priest, one Methodist, and one Baptist minister, Clark Poling, 
who was born in Columbus, Ohio--came together on that day on the 
Dorchester. As the Dorchester began sinking, they began to calm the men 
and organized an orderly evacuation, but it quickly became clear that 
there weren't enough life jackets.
  In a true display of heroism and bravery, the four chaplains removed 
their own life jackets and gave them to others. They helped as many men 
as they could on lifeboats, and then they linked arms, recited prayers, 
and sung hymns as the ship went down. These heroic actions must never 
be forgotten.
  I would like to thank the Wilmington, Ohio, American Legion post and 
the many American Legion posts and VFW posts across the country that 
helped tell this story this week. We must never forget.

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