No Greater Glory: The Four Immortal Chaplains and the Sinking of the Dorchester in World War IIThe sinking of the Dorchester in the icy waters off Greenland shortly after midnight on February 3, 1942, was one of the worst sea disasters of World War II. It was also the occasion of an astounding feat of heroism—and faith. As water gushed through a hole made by a German torpedo, four chaplains—members of different faiths but linked by bonds of friendship and devotion—moved quietly among the men onboard. Preaching bravery, the chaplains distributed life jackets, including their own. In the end, these four men went down with the ship, their arms linked in spiritual solidarity, their voices raised in prayer. In this spellbinding narrative, award-winning author and journalist Dan Kurzman tells the story of these heroes and the faith—in God and in country—that they shared. They were about as different as four American clergymen could be. George Lansing Fox (Methodist), wounded and decorated in World War I, loved his family and his Vermont congregation—yet he re-enlisted as soon as he heard about Pearl Harbor. Rabbi Alex Goode was an athlete, an intellectual, and an adoring new father—yet he too knew, the day Pearl Harbor was bombed, that he would serve. Clark Poling (Dutch Reformed), the son a famous radio evangelist, left for war begging his father to pray that he would never be a coward. Father John Washington (Catholic), a scrappy Irish street fighter, had dedicated himself to the church after a childhood brush with death. Chance brought the chaplains together at a Massachusetts training camp, but each was convinced that God had a reason for placing them together aboard the Dorchester. Drawing on extensive interviews with the chaplains’ families and the crews of both the Dorchester and the German submarine that fired the fatal torpedo, Kurzman re-creates the intimate circumstances and great historic events that culminated in that terrible night. The final hours unfold with the electrifying clarity of nightmare—the chaplains taking charge of the dwindling supply of life jackets, the panic of the crew, the overcrowded lifeboats, the prayers that ring out over the chaos, and the tight circle that the four chaplains form as the inevitable draws near. In No Greater Glory, Dan Kurzman tells how four extraordinary men left their mark on a single night of war—and forever changed the lives of those they saved. Riveting and inspiring, this is a true story of heroism, of goodness in the face of disaster, and of faith that transfigures even the horror of war. |
Contents
3 | |
A Rare Kind of Love | 11 |
Cold Chills and a Cake of Ice | 32 |
Poor Old George | 40 |
Blessing the Bored | 52 |
The Prophet and the Prize | 59 |
En Route to a Safe Place | 73 |
The Poet and the Carpet Sweeper | 80 |
The Pen and the Penniless | 127 |
A Deadly Decision | 133 |
In Search of Buttered Pancakes | 146 |
Plucked from a Festive Graveyard | 157 |
The Risk of Being Human | 166 |
The Bootlaces of Sublimity | 173 |
Notes | 191 |
Bibliography | 209 |
Other editions - View all
No Greater Glory: The Four Immortal Chaplains and the Sinking of the ... Dan Kurzman Limited preview - 2005 |
No Greater Glory: The Four Immortal Chaplains and the Sinking of the ... Dan Kurzman Limited preview - 2004 |
Common terms and phrases
aboard Alex Alex's Alexander Army Arpaia asked Ben Epstein Betty boat Boeckholt Camp Miles Standish Captain CHAPTER Charles Chief of Chaplains church Clark Poling climb Coast Guard Cutter Comanche Commander convoy craft crew Daniel O'Keeffe David Fox David Labadie death deck Dorchester survivor Edward Epstein Escanaba escort February felt finally four chaplains George Fox Goode's Greenland Greenland Patrol Greenspun Immortal Chaplains Foundation Isadore jacket James McAtamney Jewish John Washington John's Joseph knew later Leander Lieutenant lifeboat live Michael Warish minister mother Narsarssuak Naval navy never night officer overseas passengers personal interview Poling Jr Poling's priest rabbi raft replied rescue Richard Swanson rope Roy Summers Schenectady seemed ship sinking soldier submarine Tampa Theresa Goode Kaplan told torpedo U-boat U.S. Army U.S. Coast Guard USAT Dorchester videotaped ICF interview Vince wanted waves wife William York