John P. Washington
John Patrick Washington (July 18, 1908 – February 3, 1943) was a Catholic priest and a lieutenant in the United States Army. He was one of the Four Chaplains, who gave their lives to save other soldiers during the sinking of the troop transport Dorchester during World War II.
Life
Born as one of seven children to Irish immigrants Frank and Mary Washington, John was a religious boy from a young age, rapidly becoming an altar boy at his
He served at several New Jersey parishes over the next six years, before joining the Army upon learning of the attack on Pearl Harbor that took place on December 7, 1941. After brief periods in Indiana and Maryland, Washington was dispatched to Harvard University, where he took a course preparing him for deployment for Europe and became acquainted with the others of the Four Chaplains for the first time. In January 1943 he joined them on board the Dorchester for the trip to Europe via Greenland, and set off on the fatal journey.
Death
In late 1942, Washington was transferred to Camp Myles Standish in Taunton, Massachusetts, and attended Chaplains School at Harvard University. There he met fellow chaplains George L. Fox, Alexander D. Goode and Clark V. Poling. In January 1943, the chaplains embarked on board the Dorchester, which was transporting over 900 soldiers to the United Kingdom via Greenland.
On February 2, 1943, the German submarine U-223 spotted the convoy on the move and closed with the ships, firing a torpedo which struck the Dorchester shortly after midnight. Hundreds of men packed the decks of the rapidly sinking ship and scrambled for the lifeboats. Several of the lifeboats had been damaged and the four chaplains began to organize frightened soldiers. They distributed life jackets from a locker; when the supply of life jackets ran out, each of the chaplains gave theirs to other soldiers. When the last lifeboats were away, the chaplains prayed with those unable to escape the sinking ship. Twenty-seven minutes after the torpedo struck, the Dorchester disappeared below the waves, with 672 men still aboard. The last anyone saw of the four chaplains, they were standing on the deck, arms linked and praying together.[1]
Remembrance
The four chaplains were all awarded the
John P. Washington is
The U.S. Army's
The
See also
- Chaplain Corps (United States Army)
- Roman Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA § Notes
References
- ^ "The Saga of the Four Chaplains". The Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation. Archived from the original on 2000-03-02.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Federal Military Medals and Decorations". Foxfall Medals. Archived from the original on 2019-05-28. Retrieved 2009-05-18.
- ^ "Holy Women, Holy Men Celebrating the Saints" (PDF).
- ^ "The Dorchester Chaplains". satucket.com. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
- ^ "The United States Army - Fort Benning". 20 March 2013. Archived from the original on 20 March 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
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