26 JOMSA

Congress attempted to confer the Medal of Honor on each of the four chaplains, but the stringent requirements, for that medal, required heroism performed “under fire.” The bravery and ultimate sacrifice of these men did not technically qualify, since their actions took place after the torpedo attack. Therefore, members of Congress decided to authorize a special medal intended to have the same weight and importance as the Medal of Honor. On July 14, 1960 by Act of Congress (Public law 86-656, 86th Congress), the United States Congress authorized the “Four Chaplains Medal.”

The statute awarding the medal is listed as follows:

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Represen-tatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President is authorized to award posthumously appropriate medals and certificates to Chaplain George L. Fox of Gilman, Vermont; Chaplain Alexander D. Goode of Washington, District of Co-lumbia; Chaplain Clark V. Poling of Schenectady, New York; and Chaplain John P. Washington of Arlington, New Jersey, in recognition of the extraordinary hero-ism displayed by them when they sacrificed their lives in the sinking of the troop transport Dorchester in the North Atlantic in 1943 by giving up their life preserv-ers to other men aboard such transport. The medals and certificates authorized by this Act shall be in such form and of such design as shall be prescribed by the President, and shall be awarded to such representatives of the aforementioned chaplains as the President may designate. On January 18, 1961, Secretary of the Army Wilbur M. Brucker presented the award posthumously to the families of the four chaplains at Fort Myer, Virginia. In 1988, February 3 was established by a unanimous act of Congress as an annual “Four Chaplains Day.2

A 60-minute TV documentary “The Four Chaplains: Sacrifice at Sea” was produced in 2004. A composition entitled “The Light Eternal,” written by James Swearin-gen in 1992, tells the story of the Four Chaplains through music. In addition to the stained glass windows recalling the chaplains and their heroism, paintings include:

1. “Four Chaplains, 1943,” by Alton Tobey.

2. “A Moment of Peace,” Ft. Jackson, South Carolina, painted by Steven Carter.

3. The Four Chaplains, Chapel of Four Chaplains.

4. “The Four Chaplains,” by Art Seidan (the four chaplains pictured at the rail of the ship).

5. Four Chaplains mural, by artist Connie Burns Watkins, commissioned by the Rotary Club of York, Pennsylvania.

6. Four Chaplains mural, painted by Dean Fausett, at entrance to Joseph “Ziggy” Kahn Gymnasium, Jewish Community Center Irene Kaufman Building, Squirrel Hill, Pennsylvania.

7. “Four Chaplains mural”, painted by Connie Burns Watkins, in York, Pennsylvania.

8. The two-hour audio documentary “No Greater Love” tells the story, including interviews with survivors, rescuers, and naval historians.

Chapels and sanctuaries honoring the Four Chaplains:

1. The chapel at the Pittsburgh International Airport was dedicated to the Four Chaplains in 1994.

2. Joint base Lewis-McChord, Washington, Four Chaplains’ Memorial Chapel & Family Life Center.

3. Chapel at Camp Tuckahoe, Boy Scouts of America, in York County, Pennsylvania, dedicated in memory of Chaplain Goode.

Stained glass windows:

1. United States Pentagon, “A” Ring.

2. Fort Bliss, Texas, in United States Army Sergeant Majors Academy “Four Chaplains Classroom.”

3. Fort Snelling, Minnesota, Chapel of Immortal Chaplains.

4. National Cathedral, Washington, D.C., Heroes Chapel Window.

5. Post Chapel at West Point.

6. Memorial Chapel, United States Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.

7. Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, queen of the Universe, Orlando, Florida, North American Saints Window.

8. Brotherhood Memorial, Cleveland Cultural Gardens, Rockefeller Park, Cleveland, Ohio. Installed in 1953. Large granite pillar upon which there is a bronze plaque of the Four Chaplains standing in the prow of a large boat with an angelic figure behind and above them. Text memorializes, by name, each chaplain.

9. Four Chaplains Memorial, resembling a flying white bird at the top of the National Memorial Park entrance driveway, Washington, D.C., by abstract expressionist, Constantino Nivola.

10. Memorial at Arbor Crest Cemetery, created by sculptor Carlton W. Angell, dedicated to the Four Chaplains in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1954.

11. Memorial plaque at Belmont Park Racecourse in

Vol. 65, No. 5 (September-October 2014) 27

Elmont, New York. Located behind the clubhouse section of the grandstand. It is bolted onto a rock on the walkway leading to the racing secretary’s office.

12. Memorial plaque in the main lobby (second floor) of the Kings County Courthouse, at 360 Adams Street, Brooklyn, New York.

13. Memorial, public park, Dorchester, Wisconsin.

14. Memorial plaque (“The Four Chaplains Marker”), Kingwood Memorial Park, Ohio.

15. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Hebron, Maryland: memorial set up inside of the church.

16. Plaque, Rhode Island State House, commemorating the Four Chaplains and a Rhode Island native, Walter McHugh, a Coast Guard member who also lost his life on the Dorchester.

17. Four Chaplains Memorial, Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island, New York.

18. Four Chaplains Monument, Bottineau, North Dakota.

19. Memorial, Huntington Park, Newport News, Virginia.

20. Memorial plaque, Cedarhurst Park, Cedarhurst, New York.

21. Memorial sculpture, Washington Park Cemetery, Indiana.

22. Wax display at the National Historical Wax Museum (now closed) in Washington, D.C.

23. Memorial outside American Legion Post 61, Sterling St. Watertown, N.Y.

24. Four Chaplains Monument, Timothy Frost United Methodist Church, Thetford Center, Vermont. From 1936 to 1938, Rev. George Lansing Fox served as the pastor of this church and the church in Union Village, Vermont.

25. Four Chaplains Memorial, outside St. Stephen’s Church, Kearny, N.J. St. Stephen’s was Father Washington’s last assignment before he joined the army. On the 70th Anniversary of the sinking of the Dorchester, this statue was dedicated. The front shows the four men, arms locked, praying on the stern of the Dorchester, and the back is an angel, carrying four lifejackets for the men.

26. Immortal Chaplains Memorial Sanctuary- on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California.

The Four Chaplains Medal

The Four Chaplains Medal does not have a place in the

Army’s order of precedence as it was awarded only once. No devices were authorized. The medal was designed by Thomas Hudson Jones (1892-1969) of the Army’s Institute of Heraldry.

Obverse (Figure 9): In the center of a gold oval, the shape of an eagle with elevated wings with an overall width of 2 1/16 inches and height of 2 5/8 inches. The eagle is shown grasping olive branches in both talons; the branches extend upward and terminate at the eagle’s wings, forming a wreath. The soaring eagle is representative of the majesty of the spirit of the government in whose service the Four Chaplains gave the last full measure of devotion. The olive branches symbolize spiritual peace and renascence.

Reverse (Figure 10): In the center of a gold oval with a width of two inches, an open book containing the names of the Four Chaplains. Above the left side of the book is a cross, and above the right side are the Tablets of Moses with a Star of David. An olive wreath extends upward from the base of the medal. The Christian Cross and the Tablets of Moses with the Star of David represent the

Figure 9: Obverse of the Four Chaplains Medal.

Figure 10: Reverse of the Four Chaplains Medal.

28 JOMSA

faiths of the Four Chaplains whose names are inscribed forever in the annals of heroism. The medal weighs 3.1 ounces.

Ribbon (Figure 11): The central stripe of blue is the same shade as the ribbon of the Medal of Honor and symbolizes courage above and beyond the call of duty. The black edge stripes symbolize the “last full measure of devotion” rendered by the Four Chaplains.” [9] The ribbon is a neck ribbon with a central cravat that is 1.25 inches wide by 1.25 inches high. The two sides are 11 inches long with the last 3.5 inches folded under so the black stripes meet and are sawn together. Three snaps are at the folded under end which is 0.5 inch wide. Each

Figure 11: The ribbon of the Four Chaplains Medal.

snap is spaced 0.75 inches apart, the last being one eighth of an inch from the end.

The Commemorative Medal: The Commemorative medal is a smaller copy of the Four Chaplains Medal with a drape rather than a neck ribbon (Figure 12). It comes in a black box with a three-cent stamp attached in the middle of the box and THE FOUR CHAPLAINS COMMEMORATIVE MEDAL at the top and the date February 2, 1943 at the bottom (Figure 13). The medal 1.4375 inches wide. The ribbon is 1.4375 inches wide. The commemorative medal was produced by Dr. Charles P. McDowell of Foxfall.

Figure 12: The Four Chaplains Commenorative Medal.

Figure 13: The box for the Four Chaplains Commemorative Medal.

Figure 14: Obverse of the Four Chaplains pin.

The Four Chaplains pin (Figure 14): The pin is 0.625 inches square with the corners rounded. Around the outer edge at the top is FOUR CHAPLAINS MEMORIAL and around the bottom edge is WE WILL NOT FORGET. Just below the top phrase are four figures representing the Four Chaplains and below that a sinking ship (the Dorchester).

Endnotes:

1. Kenneth Wales and David Poling. Sea of Glory. Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001.

2. Public Law 860656, 86th Congress.