frantically trying to break the ice off the tackle holding the boats. Only a few were launched. Those with life jackets started jumping clear of the ship. Many did not have one. Amid this confusion four chaplains from the embarked units manned the storage locker where extra life jackets were kept. They handed these out as fast as they could. When the supply was exhausted, each chaplain took off his own jacket and gave it to an astonished soldier.
In the midst of the chaos around them, time stood still for those who watched as four men on a sinking ship gave away their life jackets. Those who witnessed the act were momentarily stunned. Said one survivor, “It was the finest thing I’ve seen, or hope to see, this side of heaven.” The chaplains, now without life jackets, continued to minister to men, calming those who were crying in fear, praying with others, helping the men prepare themselves for what was about to happen. As the lifeboats rowed away from the ship, some of the men in the boats said they could see the chaplains standing on deck, arms linked together and heads bowed, when the Dorchester finally succumbed.96
The four chaplains were George Fox (Methodist), Clark Poling (Dutch Reformed), Alex Goode (Jewish), and John Washington (Catholic). They were each awarded the Distinguished Service Cross posthumously for their heroism. Together they have left us one of the finest examples of Christian service ever recorded.
Taking the very nature of a servant… He humbled himself and became obedient to death even death on a cross!
March 12
Rabbi Alexander Goode enlisted in the Army in 1942 and was thirty-two years old when he completed Chaplain School at Harvard University. In January 1943 he said goodbye to his wife, Theresa, and their four-year-old daughter, Rosalie Bea. He boarded the troopship, SS
Before the war, as a rabbinical student, Alex wrote a letter to Theresa, then his sweetheart. He shared some thoughts about his favorite poets at that time and then expressed some heartfelt thoughts about the most important book of his life:
Speaking of the Bible I might mention that by this time in my preparation for the career of a Rabbi I have read most of the Bible, and when I say read I really mean studied carefully, at least three times, so that I am more familiar with this great library of our people than I am with any other volume I have ever studied or read. In it is stored such a mine of information and beauty that I am tempted to think with our ancestors who absolutely believed that everything in the Bible was true and that all things that man can experience under the sun are contained therein. So much is treasured up that I could not begin to describe its contents. It really is heartbreaking that more people do not seek out its treasures.97
No doubt many passages of Scripture were in Goode’s mind as he ministered to others amid the chaos of a sinking ship. When we study God’s Word and hide it in our hearts (Psalm 119:11) we build a resource of incalculable value to help us face difficult times. In a moment of decision, Scripture will guide our choice if we have been diligent in our efforts to not only read it, but to understand and remember it.
You have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
March 13
Life aboard a merchant ship in convoy across the Atlantic was a mixture of boredom and fear. Long days and nights passed without incident. However, when something happened, it usually happened suddenly. Life jackets and precious valuables were kept close at hand. There was also the issue of where to sleep:
The civilian Merchant Marines who manned the ships grimly calculated where they slept aboard ship by the cargo they carried. If you were hauling a load of iron ore, you slept on deck for you had only a few seconds to clear the ship once a torpedo hit. If you carried general cargo, you could sleep below decks but kept your clothes on because your survival time was calculated in minutes. If, however, your ship carried a load of aviation fuel, you were free to sleep naked below decks, with the door closed since you would never have the time to escape the certain and sudden oblivion of a torpedo attack.98
When there is real danger, it is human nature to be more careful. Our senses are heightened, and we take extra precautions. We don’t want to be caught unprepared. Vigilance is even more important in our spiritual lives. We may think that we have unlimited time and therefore feel no need for urgency. Jesus tried to emphasize the foolishness of this stance with the parable of the ten virgins waiting at night for the bridegroom. Not knowing how long it would be before he arrived, five of the virgins took extra oil for their lamps. They were prepared when the time came. The door to the wedding banquet was shut to the others who failed to keep the vigil.
“Sir! Sir!” They said. “Open the door for us!” But he replied, “I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.” Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
March 14
Paul Hirsch was forcefully thrown into the water by an exploding shell that totally destroyed the bridge of the SS
With his ship destroyed by a German submarine, Hirsch began a twenty-one-day ordeal with twenty-three other seamen in a lifeboat designed for ten. Stranded in the mid-Atlantic outside normal shipping lanes, their chances of rescue seemed slim. As they grew weaker, the seamen seemed to sense that they were nearing the limit of their endurance.
At this stage, they began to pray. They prayed for the wounded and for each other. As they continued these prayers they came closer together and found hope to go on. Hirsch later recalled that they managed to keep their civility, their self-respect, and their courage. Above all, these men nurtured the hope that they would survive. Their faith was rewarded on the twenty-first day when a British freighter came over the horizon to end their ordeal.
