Col. Lewis L. Millett Memorial Post 38 hosts Four Chaplains ceremony

Col. Lewis L. Millett Memorial Post 38 hosts Four Chaplains ceremony

On Feb. 4, 2017, Col. Lewis L. Millett Memorial Post 38, Seoul, South Korea, hosted a community-wide ceremony honoring the memory of four U.S. Army chaplains at the Yongsan Garrison South Post Chapel in Seoul. During World War II, when their transport ship, USAT Dorchester, was torpedoed, the Four Chaplains spread out on the ship, comforted the wounded and directed the others to safety. They distributed life jackets, and when they ran out they removed their own and gave them to four young men. As Dorchester sank, the chaplains were seen linked arm in arm, praying.
The ceremony was led by Post 38 Vice William Wight, who read a brief biography of each of the Four Chaplains. They came from different faiths and backgrounds. John P. Washington was a Catholic priest from Kearny, N.J. Rabbi Alexander D. Goode was a native of York, Pa. Clark V. Poling was a minister in the Reformed Church in America at the First Reformed Church in Schenectady, N.Y. George L. Fox, a decorated World War I veteran, was a Methodist minister in Gilman, Vt.
During the ceremony, guest speaker Col. Thomas Wheatley, the 8th United States Army Command Chaplain, spoke of the sacrifices of the Four Chaplains. A flower was placed in front of the photograph of each of the Four Chaplains by members of The American Legion. Representing the Department of the Philippines during the ceremony was Department Auditor Michael Napsey. Seoul American High School JR ROTC provided the color guard for the ceremony.