A ceremony honoring the Four Chaplains—four military chaplains who sacrificed their lives during World War II—will be held in Great Falls on February 1. The memorial is scheduled for 2 p.m. at 2900 9th Avenue South, and is open to everyone.
Kim Kay McCarty Martin explains the meaning of the service:
Organizers say the event is meant to honor unity, service, and selflessness in a time of national division.
“We get a chance to honor the four chaplains that went down,” said Kim Kay McCarty Martin, adjutant for American Legion Post 341. “And despite people’s differences, this is an opportunity to come together, to remember why we have freedom to begin with.”
The Four Chaplains—representing four different faiths—were aboard the U.S. Army transport ship Dorchester when it was struck by a German torpedo on February 3, 1943, off the coast of Greenland. The ship sank in less than 20 minutes.
“Within 20 minutes, the ship sank,” Martin said. “There were 902 service members on board—mostly Army—and only 203 got saved.”
As chaos unfolded, witnesses reported that the chaplains helped guide soldiers to safety, distributed life vests, and worked to calm panicked troops. When the supply of life vests ran out, the chaplains distributed theirs, well aware that it meant their own deaths.
“They were handing out life vests,” Martin said. “And when the last of the life vests were empty, people were panicking, and they gave up their own, knowing that once they gave up their own, there was no way they were going to be saved.”
Those actions have since become a lasting symbol of courage and interfaith unity within the U.S. military.
The Great Falls ceremony will include representatives from Malmstrom Air Force Base, Great Falls High School’s JROTC program, the American Legion, and other community organizations. The event will feature music, prayer, and refreshments following the service.
Organizers say the annual remembrance is not only about honoring the past, but about reinforcing values of service and compassion that remain relevant today.
From the website ArmyHistory.org:
In the aftermath of the disaster, the story of the Four Chaplains garnered popular notice. Many thought that they should be awarded the Medal of Honor. Instead, on 19 December 1944, they were each awarded the Purple Heart and the Distinguished Service Cross. In 1948, the U.S. Post Service issued a commemorative stamp in their honor, and Congress designated 3 February as “Four Chaplains Day.” Twelve years later, Congress created the Four Chaplains’ Medal, which was presented to their survivors by Secretary of the Army Wilber M. Brucker on 18 January 1961 at Fort Myer, Virginia.
Today, one can find memorials to the Four Chaplains all across the nation. Several organizations exist to further their memory, including the Chapel of the Four Chaplains in Philadelphia and the Immortal Chaplains Foundation in Minnesota. Chapels, bridges, memorials, and plaques honoring the Four Chaplains are found in so many locations, including a stained glass window in the Pentagon, that it is impossible to list them all here.
