Senate Resolution No. 335
BY: Senator RHOADS
MEMORIALIZING Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim
February 3, 2025, as Four Chaplains Day in the State
of New York
WHEREAS, February 3, 2025, is the 82nd Anniversary of the sinking of
the United States Army transport Dorchester, an event that resulted in
the loss of nearly 700 lives in 1943 and for which witnesses have
recounted in the Congressional Record the heroism of Four Chaplains of
different faiths, Lieutenant George L. Fox, Methodist; Lieutenant
Alexander D. Goode, Jewish; Lieutenant John P. Washington, Catholic;
and Lieutenant Clark V. Poling, Dutch Reformed; and
WHEREAS, One of the four heroes, Lieutenant Alexander D. Goode was
born in Brooklyn, New York, on May 10, 1911; his father, Hyman
Goodekowitz, was a prominent Brooklyn rabbi; and
WHEREAS, Each of the Four Chaplains was awarded the Purple Heart and
the Distinguished Service Cross posthumously; the citation of each
reads: "For extraordinary heroism in connection with military
operations against an enemy of the United States. On the night of the
3rd of February, 1943, a loaded troop transport was torpedoed, without
warning, by an enemy submarine in the North Atlantic and began to sink
rapidly. In the resulting confusion and darkness some men found
themselves without life jackets and others became helpless through fear
and the dread of plunging into the freezing water. These Four Chaplains
heroically and calmly moved about the deck, encouraging the men and
assisting them to abandon ship; after the available supply of life
jackets was exhausted, they gave up their own; they remained aboard ship
and went down with it, offering words of encouragement and prayers to
the last"; and
WHEREAS, On the corner of Broad and Berks Streets in Philadelphia,
in the heart of Temple University, is the Chapel of the Four Chaplains;
it is a memorial to the Four Chaplains who went down on the S.S.
Dorchester during World War II; it is an interfaith shrine; in it are
three remembrances, one for each faith -- Catholic, Jewish and
Protestant; at the entrance burns an eternal light which calls all to
the unity these Four Chaplains so heroically demonstrated; chiseled deep
into the stone is this dedication: "Chapel of Four Chaplains, An
Interfaith shrine, Here is Sanctuary for Brotherhood, Let it never be
violated"; and
WHEREAS, On July 14, 1960, the United States Congress awarded a
special medal for valor, given in memory of the Four Chaplains, never to
be repeated; a memorial tribute to the Four Chaplains in the form of a
commemorative coin-medal was presented to the Chapel by the National
Commemorative Society; numerous stained glass windows, paintings,
buildings and statues have been dedicated to the Four Chaplains; and
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that these Four
Chaplains, who removed their own life jackets and gave them to others to
save their lives and who were last seen arm-in-arm in prayer on the hull
of the ship, demonstrated a unique ecumenical spirit and love for their
fellow man and should never be forgotten; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim February 3, 2025, as Four
Chaplains Day in the State of New York; and be it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New
York; and to the American Legion Department of New York.
