Dorchester

Dorchester

On February 3, 1943 a torpedo struck the S.S. Dorchester. Chaos reigned on board as the boat filled with water. Men rushed aroundin a panic. Many had run up from the hold without life jackets. Overcrowded lifeboats capsized; rafts drifted away before anyone could reach them. Survivors testified that there seemed only one little island of order in all the confusion – the spot where four chaplains stood, on the steeply sloping starboard side.

 Alexander David Goode, a rabbi, George Lansing Fox, a pastor, Clark Poling, a minister, and John Washington, a priest, calmly guided men to their boat stations. They distributed life jackets from a storage locker and then helped men frozen with fear over the side.

Hundreds of men were crying, pleading, praying, and swearing. But through it all, the chaplains spoke words of courage and confidence. “Their voices were the only thing that kept me going,” one survivor recalled.

When the supply of life jackets was gone, the four chaplains gave away their own. As the water flooded the deck the chaplains remained standing firm, arms linked; their voices could be heard across the waters praying in Hebrew, Latin, and English.

God will give you the power to stand firm in the face of the storms of life. He will give you His peace as you trust in Him.

(The story of the chaplains is adapted from the book Solid Ground by Mark Finley and published by Review and Herald 2003, used with permission.)

 Image originally found here

Related Articles

More From Prose

The Kinsmen Cowboys

As I was growing up I’d always heard about the Lower East Side of New York City. I grew up in…
The Kinsmen Cowboys

Road Rage

I was on my way to meet someone in a place I had never been before. The home I was going to was…
Road Rage

A Lawsuit with God

One of the most beautifully haunting pieces of cantorial music I have ever sung was called A…
A Lawsuit with God

And They Lived Happily...

Author Richard Paul Evans has written many novels that carry the theme “and they lived happily…
And They Lived Happily...

Sick Logic and Biblical Wisdom

I was in a training class for a new job. One day the teacher mentioned that we had been exposed…
Sick Logic and Biblical Wisdom
Tom Kapusta

Tom Kapusta

Tom Kapusta loved his father. Tom was proud of his career in the military. After learning about…
Tom Kapusta

The Gratitude Attitude

My friend, Bill Schiebler, is a man who lives by our philosophy that you can have everything in…
The Gratitude Attitude

Bob Quillen

It was 2:00 a.m. when Bob Quillen's phone rang. To his surprise, it was Ray Seigal. Bob had…
Bob Quillen

Hidden Blessings

When my family moved we picked a house surrounded by some trees. The trees along one side of…
Hidden Blessings

Burned but Beautiful

An EMT volunteer for United Hatzalah in Israel named Yoav Shemaryahu responded to a medical…
Burned but Beautiful

Is God's Law My Creed?

In the 1980’s Gerry was selling religious literature door to door.
Is God's Law My Creed?

Angry with the GPS

I was not having a good day. I didn’t feel very well, and I woke up around 4:00 in the morning…
Angry with the GPS

Joshua Sink

From as early as Joshua Sink could remember he had a passion for flying. While children…
Joshua Sink

Publish the Menu module to "offcanvas" position. Here you can publish other modules as well.
Learn More.


donation