OCALA, FL (352today.com) – Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. — John 15:13

On Feb. 3, 1943, 82 years ago, the U.S. Army Transport Dorchester was struck by a German U-boat torpedo in the Labrador Sea off Greenland. Among the passengers were four chaplains—Catholic, Jewish, and Protestant—who provided comfort and courage to those in distress. Their sacrifice was honored on Feb. 1, 2025, at a remembrance service held at the Marion County Commission Auditorium, paying tribute to The Four Chaplains who gave their lives selflessly.

“Today we come to honor those men who bravely sacrificed their lives in order to save others,” said Jeffrery Askew, director of the Marion County Department of Veterans’ Services.

The Four Chaplains were Lt. George L. Fox, a Methodist minister; Lt. Alexander D. Goode, a Reform rabbi; Lt. Clark V. Poling, a Reformed Church in America minister; and Lt. John P. Washington, a Roman Catholic priest.

For more than eight decades, their legacy has inspired military chaplains and the general public, said Smith.

The North Marion High School JROTC, represented by Maj. Savanna Ramsdell, Lt. Alexia Goisein, Lt. Christian Reese, and Sgt. Ashlyn Watson, presented the biographies of the chaplains: Lt. George L. Fox, U.S. Army; Lt. Alexander D. Goode, U.S. Army Air Corps; Lt. Clark V. Poling, U.S. Army; and Lt. John P. Washington, U.S. Army.

Fr. Donald Curran, a retired U.S. Navy commander and pastor of Christ the King Anglican Church, delivered the keynote address at the remembrance service.

“The ship sinks in about 20 minutes, it doesn’t take long,” said Fr. Curran. “One of the Coast Guard cutters rescues 97, and another rescues 132. Some of the lifeboats were overloaded, floated and capsized. The Four Chaplains are trying to bring hope to the people as they’re trying to get off the ship. They’re trying to calm the soldiers with prayer and encouragement. They open the locker and begin handing out life jackets. When they were gone, they took off their own life jackets and gave them to their other fellow soldiers.”

Curran emphasized that the chaplains’ courage, faith, character, and selflessness continue to resonate today. The Four Chaplains were completely “other-centered” because of their religious beliefs.

They didn’t think of themselves but of four others who would live because they made the ultimate sacrifice. They had families and friends; they were young. But in that moment, they knew what they had to do—placing the welfare of others first. Without hesitation, they acted, knowing that eternity awaited them.

“And as the ship went down, the survivors saw the chaplains link arms, and they were praying,” said Curran. “‘Valor is a gift,’ Carl Sandburg once said. ‘Those having it never know it. Those never know they have it until the test comes,'” said Curran. “That night the Four Chaplains passed the ultimate test. When the moment of truth came, they were up to the challenge.”