Reverend Clark V. Poling
and the
Four Immortal Chaplains

Clark V. Poling was born August 7, 1910 in Columbus, Ohio. He was the son of Susie Jane Vandersall of East Liberty, Ohio, just south of Akron and Daniel A. Poling of Portland, Oregon. In addition to Clark, the other children were Daniel, Mary and Elizabeth. Clark attended Whitney Public School in Auburndale, Massachusetts and his teachers remembered his maturity and delicate side of his nature. The Auburndale days came to an end when his mother died in 1918. She is buried at Greenlawn Cemetery, Uniontown, Ohio. Clark's father was an Evangelical Minister and in 1936 was rebaptized as a Baptist minister. Reverend Daniel Poling was remarried on August 11, 1919 to Lillian Diebold Heingartner of Canton, Ohio.

In November of 1942 four young men "found each other" while attending Chaplain's School at Harvard University.  They had enough in common to bond them together.  At age 42, George Fox was the "older brother".  The youngest was 30-year old Clark Poling, and less than three years separated him from the other two, Alexander Goode and John Washington.  A common cause brought them together, the desire to render service to their Nation during the critical years of World War II.

On January 23rd, 1943, hundreds of men, including the four chaplains, crowded onto the USAT Dorchester to begin the long journey from America to Britain.  The crossing was filled with long hours of boredom and misery.  Outside, the chilly Arctic winds and cold ocean spray coated the Dorchester's deck with ice.  Below deck the soldiers' quarters were hot from too many bodies, crammed into too small a place, for too many days in a row.  Finally, on February 2nd, the Dorchester was within 150 miles of Greenland.   It would have generated a great sense of relief among the young soldiers crowded in the ship's berths, had not the welcomed news been tempered by other news of grave concern.  One of the Dorchester's three Coast Guard escorts had received sonar readings during the day, indicating the presence of an enemy submarine.

Quickly and quietly the four chaplains spread out among the soldiers. There they tried to calm the frightened, tend the wounded and guide the disoriented toward safety.  "Witnesses of that terrible night remember hearing the four men offer prayers for the dying and encouragement for those who would live," says Wyatt R. Fox, son of Reverend Fox.  One witness, Private William B. Bednar, found himself floating in oil-smeared water surrounded by dead bodies and debris. "I could hear men crying, pleading, praying," Bednar recalls. "I could also hear the chaplains preaching courage. Their voices were the only thing that kept me going."  "It was the finest thing I have seen or hope to see this side of heaven," said John Ladd, another survivor who saw the chaplains' selfless act.

Before boarding the Dorchester back in January, Reverend Poling had asked his father to pray for him, "Not for my safe return, that wouldn't be fair.  Just pray that I shall do my duty...never be a coward...and have the strength, courage and understanding of men.  Just pray that I shall be adequate."  He probably never dreamed that his prayer request would be answered so fully.  As he guided the frightened soldiers to their only hope of safety from the rapidly sinking transport, he spoke calm words of encouragement, urging them not to give up.  In the dark hull of the Dorchester, he was more than adequate.  He was a hero.

In less than half an hour, water was beginning to flow across the deck of the sinking Dorchester.  Working against time the Chaplains continued to pass out the life vests from the lockers as the soldiers pressed forward in a ragged line.  Soon the lockers were all empty; the life jackets gone.  Those still pressing in line began to realize they were doomed, there was no hope.  And then something amazing happened, something those who were there would never forget.  All Four Chaplains began taking their own life jackets off....and putting them on the men around them.  Together they sacrificed their last shred of hope for survival, to insure the survival of other men - most of them total strangers.  The Chaplains had done all they could for those who would survive, and nothing more could be done for the remaining... including themselves.

Braced against the railings were the Four Chaplains - praying, singing, giving strength to others by their final valiant declaration of faith.  Their arms were linked together as they braced against the railing and leaned into each other for support: Reverend Fox, Rabbi Goode, Reverend Poling, and Father Washington.  Only 27 minutes after the first torpedo struck, the last vestige of the U.S.A.T. Dorchester disappeared beneath the cold North Atlantic waters.   In it's death throes it reached out to claim any survivors nearby, taking with it to its grave the four ministers of different faiths who learned to find strength in their diversity by focusing on the Father they shared.

Of the 902 men aboard the U.S.A.T. Dorchester, 672 died, leaving 230 survivors. When the news reached American shores, the nation was stunned by the magnitude of the tragedy and heroic conduct of the four chaplains.

Reverend Clark Poling was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and Distinguished Service Cross.

This page could not have been completed without the most generous help of Mr. Douglas Sterner.  For more information about the Four Immortal Chaplains, please visit his excellent website.