Remembering Unlikely Heroes

The author Richard C. Crepeau once offered, “A hero shows us what we ought to be.” And we, in turn, regard people as heroes because we wish to be what they are. This Sunday afternoon at two at Taftville’s Peter Gallan American Legion Post 104 on Merchants Avenue is a ceremony honoring heroes who may have escaped your notice.

On February 3, 1943, at the height of World War II, the SS Dorchester, a converted cargo vessel pressed into duty and refitted as a troop transport ship was torpedoed in the early morning hours as the convoy of which it was a part was sailing from Newfoundland, Canada to a port in Southern Greenland.

The ship with 904 troops and civilian crew aboard sank bow first in about twenty minutes. The severe list as it sank prevented the launch of some of her lifeboats and subsequent overcrowding of the remaining lifeboats caused some of those that were launched to capsize, spilling their unfortunate passengers into cold North Atlantic waters barely above freezing.

Because of the ship’s sudden sinking, no distress signals were sent delaying the start of any rescue attempts. When help did arrive the following day, many who had survived the sinking were floating in their life-jackets, dead from hypothermia. Only 230 men were rescued. The Dorchester sinking was the largest loss of life of any American convoy during World War II.

Among those who died on board were four US army chaplains, who helped frightened soldiers board lifeboats, and gave up their own life-jackets when the supply ran out. The four, (Methodist minister, Reverend) George Fox, (Reform Rabbi) Alexander Goode, (Roman Catholic priest, Reverend) John Washington, and (Reformed Church in America minister, Reverend) Clark Poling then joined arms, offered prayers for the living and the dead, and sang hymns as the ship sank.

Their deaths serve as a courageous example for we the living, especially in times such as these defined by peril and challenges from within and without. Their example continues to this day to inspire. The ceremony on Sunday honors their lives and celebrates their selfless sacrifice.

Reverend Scott Schuett, Pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Lebanon, Reverend Sara Ofner-Seals of the First Congregational Church in New London, Rabbi Julius Rabinowitz, Rabbi of Beth Jacob Synagogue in Norwich, and Reverend Phil Salois, Retired Army Catholic Chaplain, and now Chaplain with the American Legion, each representing the faith of one of the original chaplains will deliver a benediction, representing the final moments aboard Dorchester. Reverend Sara Ofner-Seals of the First Congregational Church in New London, will be the keynote speaker.

I’ve been fortunate to attend the ceremony in years past and it is both thoughtful and thought-provoking, The post hall is very small and that enforced intimacy I believe helps me better appreciate the lessons learned about lives truly lived with grace under pressure with courage and caring for others that I fear sometimes gets lost in our day-to-day lives.

Despite the size of the venue, there’s always room for one more person and it would be altogether fitting if that person were you.

-bill kenny