Memorial S.S. Dorchester

In the top corner of Ivittuut Cemetery, near to the Anchor Memorial to all those who have lost lives at sea, is a bronze plaque to those that perished on the SS Dorchester on 3rd February 1943.
SS Dorchester was a passenger ship (for 324 passengers and 90 crew) converted into a troopship (751 troops and 153 crew and gunners) in Jan 1942. On Jan 23 1943 she left New York bound for Narsarsuaq (Bluie West 1) carrying 902 men, with 2 other ships escorted by 3 US Coast Guard Cutters in convoy SG 19. At 0055 on 3 Feb 1943, the U-223 fired a spread of 3 torpedoes, one of which struck SS Dorchester. Due to boiler damage the ship was unable to signal abandon ship or raise the alarm and she sank within 20 minutes to the west of Cape Farewell with a loss of 675 persons. This was the highest number of casualties in a US escorted convoy.

The sinking gave rise to the story of the Four Chaplains who helped the survivors into their life jackets and refused to take one for themselves, joining arms and singing prayers as they went down with the ship. They four, all new chaplains with the rank of 1st Lieutenant, were Reverend George L. Fox (Methodist), Reform Rabbi Alexander D. Goode, Catholic Priest Father John P. Washington and Reformed Church in America Minister, Reverend Clark V. Poling. All were posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and Purple Heart. They had been nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honour but were not eligible because they were not engaged in combat. In 1969 they were posthumously awarded the Chaplain's Medal of Honour.

Reverend Fox had also served as medical corps assistant in WW1 earning a Silver Star, Purple Heart and Croix de Guerre.

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