[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 1069-1070]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   WELCOMING RABBI JEFFREY ASTRACHAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Platts) is recognized for 1 minute.
  There was no objection.


                  In Memory of the ``Four Chaplains''

  Mr. PLATTS. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to host our guest chaplain, 
Rabbi Jeffrey Astrachan, to give today's opening prayer. Rabbi 
Astrachan is here today to help honor the sacrifice of the four 
chaplains who gave their lives during the sinking of the troop ship 
Dorchester during World War II. This is especially significant because 
one of the four chaplains, Lieutenant Alexander D. Goode, was once a 
rabbi with the same congregation in York, Pennsylvania, my hometown 
that Rabbi Astrachan now serves.
  Along with the rabbi, I am pleased to take this opportunity to 
recognize the courageous sacrifice made 69 years ago by the four 
chaplains. The Dorchester was torpedoed off the coast of Greenland. 
Only 230 of the over-900 men on board survived. The survivors recounted 
the story of the heroic actions of the four chaplains of different 
faiths: Lieutenant Goode; Lieutenant John Washington, a Catholic 
priest; and Lieutenants George Fox and Clark Poling, two protestant 
ministers.
  These four servants of God spent their last 18 minutes in this life 
helping their fellow passengers to safety. When there were no more life 
jackets to hand out, the chaplains removed their own and gave them to 
shipmates. They were last seen on the hull of the ship, arm-in-arm in 
prayer as the ship sank into the icy waters.
  Chaplains Hill at Arlington National Cemetery is home to several 
memorials to chaplains. Last year, the United States House of 
Representatives adopted legislation to include a memorial to the 14 
Jewish chaplains who gave their lives in World War II and the Korean 
and Vietnam wars. Today, we honor

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not just the four chaplains of the Dorchester, but the sacrifices and 
selflessness made by military chaplains of all faiths.

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