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Four Chaplains' Medal
The Four Chaplains' Medal was a decoration approved by an Act of Congress on July 14, 1960 (P.L. 86-656, 74 Stat. 521).[1] The decoration recognizes the heroic actions of four Army Chaplains during World War II. The statute awarding the medal is listed as follows:
Also known as the Chaplain's Medal of Honor and the Chaplain's Medal for Heroism, its design commemorates the actions of the Four Chaplains who gave their lives in the line of duty on February 3, 1943. The medal was designed by Thomas Hudson Jones (1892–1969) of the United States Army Institute of Heraldry. It was presented posthumously to their next of kin by Secretary of the Army Wilber M. Brucker at Fort Myer, Virginia, on January 18, 1961.[3] The Four ChaplainsThe four chaplains were lieutenants in the United States Army: the Rev. George L. Fox (Methodist), Rabbi Alexander D. Goode (Jewish), the Rev. Clark V. Poling (Reformed Church in America) and Fr. John P. Washington (Roman Catholic). In late 1942, the chaplains were transferred to Camp Myles Standish in Taunton, Massachusetts, and attended Chaplains School at Harvard University. In January 1943, the chaplains embarked on board the SS Dorchester, which was transporting over 900 soldiers to the United Kingdom via Greenland. On February 2, 1943, the German submarine U-223 spotted the convoy on the move and closed with the ships, firing a torpedo which struck the Dorchester shortly after midnight. Hundreds of men packed the decks of the rapidly sinking ship and scrambled for the lifeboats. Several of the lifeboats had been damaged and the four chaplains began to organize frightened soldiers. They distributed life jackets from a locker; when the supply of life jackets ran out, each of the chaplains gave theirs to other soldiers. When the last lifeboats were away, the chaplains prayed with those unable to escape the sinking ship. Twenty-seven minutes after the torpedo struck, the Dorchester disappeared below the waves with 672 men still aboard. The last anyone saw of the four chaplains, they were standing on the deck, arms linked and praying together.[4] As to official military decorations, each of the four chaplains was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the Purple Heart.[4] Award creationIn 1957, The American Legion, at their 39th National Convention in Atlantic City, passed a resolution asking Congress to award the Medal of Honor to the Four Chaplains;[5] however, criteria for the Medal of Honor included "combat with the enemy."[6] The special medal — intended to have the same weight and importance as the Medal of Honor[4][additional citation(s) needed] — was approved by the Senate in 1958,[7] and by the House in 1960.[8] In 2006, The American Legion, at their 88th National Convention in Salt Lake City, passed a new resolution in support of awarding the Medal of Honor to the Four Chaplains.[9] See also Wikimedia Commons has media related to Four Chaplains' Medal. References
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