On Friday, Feb. 3^rd, 2023, Wreaths Across America will honor the American heroes known as “The Four Chaplains” with a special live event at 1 pm EST, from the nondenominational Balsam Valley Chapel and balsam tip lands located in the Downeast Region of Maine. This event is open to the local public and will be streamed on the organization’s Official Facebook Page and on Wreaths Across America Radio.

On January 23, 1943, the U.S.A.T. Dorchester left New York harbor bound for Greenland carrying over 900 officers, servicemen and civilian workers. The ship was a coastal passenger steamship requisitioned and operated by the War Shipping Administration (WSA) for wartime use as a troop ship. The ship was transiting the Labrador Sea when it was torpedoed by a German U-boat (U-233) on February 3, 1943. The ship sank and 675 people on board lost their lives. Amidst the chaos to save 230 lives four chaplains guided soldiers trapped below deck to escape hatches and gave away their life jackets to save others on that fateful day. When the chaplains had done all they could, they linked arms to pray and sing hymns as the Dorchester slipped beneath the waves.

To watch this live event on Facebook, click here.

To learn more about “The Four Chaplains,” view this video.

To learn more and to download pictures of the Four Chaplains and the U.S.A.T. Dorchester, follow this link.

To learn more about Coast Guardsman Charles Walter David Jr., follow this link.