As part of nationwide observances of Four Chaplains Sunday on Feb.6, local memorial service is scheduled from 2:00 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. at the Masonic Hall located at the corner of 5th and Baud Streets in Winnemucca.
The observance will mark the 79th anniversary of the torpedoing of the troopship U. S. Army Transport (U.S.A.T.) Dorchester during World War II, which carried to their deaths four U.S. Army Chaplains of three faiths, who stood united in prayer on the deck of the sinking ship as it went down.
The four chaplains, Roman Catholic, Jewish and Protestant gave their own life jackets to four soldiers and thus sacrificed their own lives to save others.
The heroic deeds of Chaplains Lt. George L. Fox (Protestant), Lt. Alexander D. Goode (Jewish), Lt. Johnny P. Washington (Roman Catholic) and Lt. Clark V. Poling (Protestant) and their combined act of supreme devotion and sacrifice for American liberty and human freedom remains a shining example of real Brotherhood for all time to all people of good will.
The memorial service is sponsored jointly by Vernon Robins Post No. 5 of the American Legion and Winnemucca Lodge No. 19 Free and Accepted Masons (F&AM).
For additional information or to answer questions, please contact Paul Schlehr at 775-375-7308 or Lewis Trout at 775-623-2710.
