What Would You Do?

** NOVEMBER 11 IS VETERANS DAY. I want to share a special story.

ILLUSTRATION:

As the SS Dorchester move among the heavy seas of the North Atlanta they were they were with the men that they were charged with giving spiritual care. Down in the belly of the ship were four U.S. Army chaplains circulated among the frightened young men, some lying wide-eyed in their bunks, others nervously playing cards or shooting dice.

Those chaplains were Lt. George L. Fox, Methodist; Lt. Alexander D. Goode, Jewish; Lt. John P. Washington, Catholic; and Lt. Clark V. Poling, Reformed.

They were chatting with the troops, the chaplains eased tensions, calmed fears and passed out soda crackers to alleviate seasickness.

History of the Four Chaplains:

The SS Dorchester had left New York on January 23, 1943, en route to Greenland, carrying four chaplains and approximately 900 others, as part of a convoy of three ships (SG-19 convoy).

*((Dorchester was designed for 314 civilian passengers and 90 crew, she was able to carry slightly more than 900 military passengers and crew after overhaul.))

Most of the military personnel were not told the ship's ultimate destination. The convoy was escorted by Coast Guard Cutters  Tampa, Escanaba, and Comanche.

The ship's captain, Hans J. Danielsen, had been alerted that Coast Guard sonar had detected a submarine. Because German U-boats were monitoring sea lanes and had attacked and sunk ships earlier during the war, Captain Danielsen had the ship's crew on a state of high alert even before he received that information, ordering the men to sleep in their clothing and keep their life jackets on. "Many soldiers sleeping deep in the ship's hold disregarded the order because of the engine's heat. Others ignored it because the life jackets were uncomfortable."

During the early morning hours of February 3, 1943, at 12:55 am, the vessel was torpedoed by the German submarine U-223 off Newfoundland in the North Atlantic.

The torpedo knocked out the Dorchester's electrical system, leaving the ship dark. Panic set in among the men on board, many of them trapped below decks. The chaplains sought to calm the men and organize an orderly evacuation of the ship, and helped guide wounded men to safety. As life jackets were passed out to the men, the supply ran out before each man had one. The chaplains removed their own life jackets and gave them to others. They helped as many men as they could into lifeboats, and then linked arms and, saying prayers and singing hymns, went down with the ship.

According to some reports, survivors could hear different languages mixed in the prayers of the chaplains, including Jewish prayers in Hebrew and Catholic prayers in Latin. Only 230 of the 904 men aboard the ship were rescued. Life jackets offered little protection from hypothermia, which killed most men in the water. The water temperature was 34 °F (1 °C) and the air temperature was 36 °F (2 °C). By the time additional rescue ships arrived, "hundreds of dead bodies were seen floating on the water, kept up by their life jackets.

—?Grady Clark, survivor said this:

As I swam away from the ship, I looked back. The flares had lighted everything. The bow came up high and she slid under. The last thing I saw, was Four Chaplains up there praying for the safety of the men. They had done everything they could. I did not see them again. They themselves did not have a chance without their life jackets.

John 15:12 nlt

13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

We have Jesus our Savior who gave up His life in heaven to come to this place we call earth just to die for us and our sins. He took our sin and threw them away. Far away, as far as the east is from the west.

People have tried and actually carry on what Jesus started:

Methodist Circuit Riders was a difficult and often short life. Prior to 1847, nearly half of Methodist circuit riding preachers died before the age of 30. But their passion for saving souls was unprecedented.

Bishop Francis Asbury traveled some 270,000 miles on horseback and preached 16,000 sermons during his tenure.

Typically, circuit riders traveled 200 to 500 mile routes on horseback. At times, they preached every day. Sometimes circuits were so large that it took six weeks to complete a cycle.

-Exhaustion, illness, Indian War Parties, Robbers and unfriendly encounters with animals attacks and hunger were constant threats.

-They were out there on their own with no help between Churches and Farms and Towns.

They stayed with anyone that would have them and ate whatever was given them. *One meal as Preacher John W. Talley wrote: "Fed upon musty cornbread, and the tough lungs of a deer fried in rancid bacon grease and corn coffee sweetened with syrup."

Preacher Pattersons: "In his lap desk, you can see that he had to carry everything he needed; there were fishing lines in case he needed to go fishing, wax to seal letters, even bleeding instruments are here." Always a pistol by their side to kill food and dangerous animals and men.