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Sacrifices of four World War II chaplains honored in Rockland
By Kate Tucci

STONY POINT - It has been nearly 66 years years since the Army transport ship Dorchester was torpedoed in the North Atlantic, but the sacrifices of four clergymen who gave up their lifebelts and helped other soldiers evacuate have not been forgotten.

The American Legion Leo Lader Post 130 held its annual Four Chaplains Service at the Marian Shrine this morning."Valour is a gift," Warren Kaiser, the commander of the Rockland County American Legion, told the crowd of more than 100 men, women, and children, quoting Carl Sandburg.The interfaith service, officiated by the Rev. Bill Bucciserro, commemorated the lives and bravery of the four chaplains who gave up their lifebelts - and any chance of survival in the frigid waters - so others could survive after the ship was torpedoed by German U-boat U-223 on its way to Greenland on Feb. 3, 1943.

Kaiser said that of the 902 servicemen, seamen, and workers aboard the ship, only 230 survived.The four chaplains who showed this ultimate form of bravery were Lt. George L. Fox, a Methodist minister from Pennsylvania; Lt. Alexander D. Goode, a rabbi from Brooklyn; Lt. Clarke V. Poling, a minister in the Dutch Reform Church from Schenectady; and Lt. John P. Washington, a Roman Catholic priest from New Jersey.

William Mahan, of New City and American Legion legislative vice chairman, spoke before the crowd and discussed the importance of the service and remembering courageous acts such as this one."You'll see the young children," he said gesturing to some of the younger descendants of those who perished aboard the USAT Dorchester. "That is basically what this is about, keeping the young children aware."

The message was not lost of Frank Voce IV, 16, of Congers, whose great-grandfather was a servicemember who died when the Dorchester went down."It's an honor to do this for my family and pass the knowledge of what happened on," he said.Voce, along with his brothers, Chris, 12, and Gregory, 4, lit a candle during the service in memory of the deceased.Also at the service, which as been held annually since 1951, were members of the American Legion, Nam Knights, Korean War Veterans, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Disabled American Veterans, Jewish War Veterans, Marine Corps League, Ukrainian-American Veterans and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The Rockland County Police Emerald Society Pipe and Drum Band, an ROTC unit, and the Junior Civil Air Patrol also attended.

Joe Thaxton, 81, a member of the American Legion Post 199, of Spring Valley was honored to be there. Thaxton, a veteran of World War II as well as Korea, said of the sacrifices of men such as the four chaplains, "We stood on the shoulders of others and I hope the young men today stand on my shoulders in the same way."

The service was followed by a breakfast at the Haverstraw Elks Club.