On May 29th 1948, the United States postmaster-General, Mr. Jesse M. Donaldson, at a-special ceremony at the White House, Washington, announced the placing on sale of this commemorative stamp. It was issued in honour of the four U.S. Army chaplains whose portraits appear in the design. These Immortal Chaplains sacrificed their lives on March 2, 1943, when the U.S. Army Transport Dorchester was sunk in the North Atlantic. The striking design shows the sinking ship and the four chaplains, George L. Fox and Clark V. Poling, Protestants, John P. Washington, a Roman Catholic, and Alexander D.Goode, Jewish, grouped in that order from left to right above the Dorchester.
These four men passed their own lifebelts to soldiers when their vessel was torpedoed off the coast of Greenland in the early morning hours. When last seen they were standing together in the bow of the ship, their arms linked and voices raised in prayer as the vessel plunged beneath the surface. The U.S. Postmaster General said it was his fond hope that an unprecedented usage of the stamp would carry its lesson of brotherly love and heroism into every family of America. A first issue of 115 million would be printed, he said, and he expected that the order would have to be reprinted many times in the next four years.
It may be of interest to know that 8,171 chaplains, of all faiths, were on duty with the U.S. Army in July 1945, and no less than 2,653 received decorations. Seventy-seven were killed in action, and five died in one Japanese prison camp. Those wounded on service numbered 253. The Dorchester was built and engined in 1926 by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company at their Newport News yard. Her dimensions were 368 ft. x 52 ft. x 36 ft. She was a four-decked vessel and her gross tonnage was 5,649.
Prior to the outbreak of war the Dorchester was owned and operated by the Merchants & Miners Transportation Co., Inc., and she was registered at Baltimore. From January 24, 1942, the Maritime Commission operated the vessel for the U.S. War Department. She was converted into an army transport at New York in less than one month— under the supervision of Agwilines Inc., in February 1942. Early in March she left the Hudson River and sailed to Kungiait Bay, Greenland, returning to New York at the end of April. She then proceeded to Boston, sailing from there in May 1942 for Narsasarssuak, Ivigut and Sonderstromfjord.
The Dorchester returned to Boston in late June, and using the port as a base made periodic voyages to St. Johns, Newfoundland, and Argentia City, Placenta Bay, Newfoundland, until the end of the year. She returned to New York and sailed from there for the last time on January 22, 1943, for St. Johns and Narsasarssuak. While outward bound, however she was torpedoed by a German submarine and sank with considerable loss - of life. The submarine was later reported destroyed.
SG953 Sea Breezes 10/48