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BY CHAPLAIN (MAJ.) WALTER MCCALL Garrison Chaplain, U.S. Army Garrison-Fort McCoy
My dear friends and my fellow Soldiers, in our line of work, we are often called to reflect on the nature of duty, of service, and of faith.
We walk a path where the temporal and the eternal often meet, sometimes in the quiet of a chapel, and sometimes in the crucible of conflict. Today, I want to share a sacred story from our own history — a story that serves as a guiding light for all of us who wear this uniform.
It is the story of the Four Chaplains and another brave soul, a testament to a love that knows no bounds and a faith that shines brightest in the darkest of nights.
A fateful voyage
Picture, if you will, the cold, dark waters of the North Atlantic in the winter of 1943 — Feb. 3, 1943, to be exact. The USAT Dorchester, a transport ship, was ferrying over 900 souls toward Greenland. Among them were young men, full of life and hope, and also four of our own — U.S. Army chaplains. These were shepherds entrusted with the spiritual care of their flock.
In the dead of night, the unthinkable happened. A German torpedo struck the Dorchester, and the ship became a scene of chaos and fear. In those terrifying moments, as the vessel began its final descent into the icy depths, the character of these men of God was revealed in its purest form.
The shepherds & their flock
Our four brothers in the chaplaincy — Lt. George Fox, a Methodist; Lt. Alexander Goode, a Jewish Rabbi; Lt. John Washington, a Roman Catholic Priest; and Lt. Clark Poling, of the Dutch Reformed Church — had become dear friends. They were a living embodiment of the unity we find in service to God and country, a unity that transcends any single creed.
As panic spread, these four men became beacons of calm and grace. They moved through the darkness, offering prayers, calming fears, and guiding men to safety. They handed out life jackets, and when the supply was exhausted, they did something that continues to stir the soul of every chaplain who hears it. They gave their own.
Without a moment’s hesitation, they removed their life jackets and gave them to four frightened young Soldiers. In this ultimate act of self-giving, they lived out the very essence of their calling.
Survivors who were pulled from the water later told of their last sight of the chaplains: four figures, arms linked on the slanted deck of the sinking ship, voices raised in prayer and hymns to the God they so faithfully served.
A brother in the rescue
But the Lord’s work that night was not yet finished. As the few survivors clung to life in the freezing sea, the Coast Guard Cutter Comanche arrived. Aboard that vessel was another hero, a man whose courage was a powerful sermon in itself: Petty Officer 1st Class Charles W. David Jr.
Seeing men too weak from the cold to save themselves, this brave steward’s mate repeatedly threw himself into the punishing water. He was a lifeline, a physical manifestation of grace, pulling his fellow men from the jaws of death.
He even saved his own executive officer. It was an act of profound, selfless love, a ministry performed not from a pulpit, but in the heart of the unforgiving Atlantic. Tragically, this act of supreme sacrifice would lead to his own death from pneumonia weeks later. He laid down his life for others, just as our chaplain brothers had.
A legacy of light
In the memories of Lt. Fox, Lt. Goode, Lt. Washington, Lt. Poling, and Petty Officer David, we find a profound lesson. Their story is not merely one of bravery, but of a faith so strong it casts out all fear. They teach us that the greatest service is to give of oneself completely, that our shared humanity is a bond more sacred than any division, and that in the darkest of nights, the light of God’s love can shine through the actions of a faithful few.
Their legacy is a blessing and a charge to each of us.
May we always remember their sacrifice, and may we strive to live with a fraction of the courage, compassion, and faith that they showed the world in their final hours.
Let their memory be a comfort and an inspiration to us all. Amen.
(Editor’s Note: The U.S. Army Chaplain Corps observes Four Chaplains Day every year on Feb. 3. Sources supporting this story include: The Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation, fourchaplains.org; Chaplain Corps History: The Four Chaplains, www.army.mil/article/34090/chaplain_corps_history_the_four_chaplains; U.S. Dept of Veteran Affairs, “Atlanta VA Health Care System Remembers Four Chaplains Day;” www.va.gov/atlanta-health-care/stories/atlanta-va-health-care-system-remembers-four-chaplains-day-0/; Four Chaplains Day, www.nationaltoday.com/four-chaplains-day/; U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area Historian by William H. Thiesen, Ph.D., www.cgaalumni.org/show_module_fw2.aspx?sid=1043&gid=1&control_id=6806&nologo=1&cvprint=1&page_id=3143&crid=0&viewas=user; The National WWII Museum, Sailor Charles Walter Dave Jr. Gave His Life to Save Fellow Americans, www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/coast-guardsman-charles-walter-david-jr-dorchester; National Archives, The Story of Five Men’s Heroism and Sacrifice: 80 Years After the Sinking of the USAT Dorchester, https://visit.archives.gov/whats-on/events/76345.)
| Date Taken: | 02.20.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 02.20.2026 11:42 |
| Story ID: | 558463 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 14 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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