PSL to host memorial service honoring the Four Chaplains
Published on January 31, 2024
What: The City of Port St. Lucie invites the community to gather and commemorate the Four Chaplains at a memorial service marking the 81st anniversary of the sinking of the U.S.A.T. Dorchester.
When: Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024, at 3 p.m.
Where: Grace Emmanuel Church, 707 Kitterman Road.
Why: The purpose of this event is to honor and remember four U.S. Army Chaplains who made a great sacrifice to save others. When their transport ship, the U.S.A.T. Dorchester, was torpedoed 80 miles south of Greenland on Feb. 3, 1943, they selflessly gave up their life jackets to let others live and prayed together.
The four chaplains were Fr. John P. Washington, a Catholic priest from Kerny, N.J., Rabbi Alexander D. Goode, a native of York, Pa, Clark V. Poling, a minister from Schenectady, N.Y., and George L. Fox, a decorated World War I veteran and Methodist minister from Gilman, Vt.
Guest speakers at the event will include retired Army Lt. Col. Bobbie Williams from the Treasure Coast Chapter of the Retired Military Officers Association of America, Treasure Coast Chapter. The ceremony will also include a “God Bless America” performance, the national anthem, a resounding of taps and more.
John Ramos, a U.S. Army veteran, will lead the national anthem. Notable figures attending the service include Port St. Lucie Councilman David Pickett, a retired Sgt. 1st Class and member of the Retired U.S. Army Gulf, Iraq and the Afghanistan Veterans Association.
In 1988, Congress established Feb. 3 as Four Chaplains Day each year. For more information about this memorial service, please visit CityofPSL.com.