About UsVirtual Tour
Click on a red arrow to visit a particular section of the Fort Snelling
Memorial Chapel.
Stained Glass Window Set 4
The windows located on the pulpit-side in the back of the sanctuary, are a special tribute to the Four Chaplains. These four men of God; George Fox, a Methodist; Alexander Goode, a Jewish Rabbi; Clark Poling, from the First Reformed Church and John Washington, a Catholic Priest, were all serving as Chaplains on the USS Dorchester on February 3,1943. At 1:00a.m., 100 miles off the coast of Greenland, the ship was hit by a torpedo in its midsection. These four men were among the first on deck calming the soldiers, passing out life vests until there were no more. In a great act of courage, they gave their own vests to the soldiers. They were last seen standing arm in arm, on the deck of the ship praying, each in his own way, for the soldiers.
On the Sunday nearest to February 3rd, the Fort Snelling Memorial Chapel Foundation honors these four brave men in a special service. All of the Chaplains were posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Distinguished Service Cross.
Then, on July 14,1960, the Four Chaplains Medal was established by an act
of Congress; and on January 18, 1961, it was presented posthumously to their
next of kin by the Secretary of the Army, Wilbur Brucker, at Fort Meyer,
Virginia.
