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Legion Post To Hold Four Chaplains Memorial

By HERNANDO TODAY STAFF

Published: January 16, 2009

American Legion Post 186 will present the Four Chaplains Memorial Service at 2 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 1, at Mariner United Methodist Church, 7079 Mariner Blvd., Spring Hill.
The Four Chaplains were four U.S. Army chaplains, all who held the rank of lieutenant, who gave their lives to save other soldiers during the sinking of the USS Dorchester in freezing temperatures during World War II. They helped other soldiers board lifeboats and gave up their life jackets when the supply ran out; 230 of the 904 men aboard the ship were rescued. They were Methodist Rev. George L. Fox, Jewish rabbi Alexander D. Goode, Roman Catholic priest John P. Washington and the Reformed Church in America Rev. Clark V. Poling.
On Dec. 19, 1944 all four chaplains were posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Distinguished Service Cross. The Chaplain's Medal for Heroism was authorized in 1961 and posthumously presented by the president to the families of the chaplains.
For more information, call the Post at 352-597-9995.