SEBASTIAN — “What started out as a dream eight years ago has become a reality,” said Larry Wapnick, president of the Four Chaplains Monument Committee, of a long-planned monument honoring and remembering four chaplains who sacrificed their lives to save four others on the sinking USAT Dorchester 69 years ago during World War II.
Wapnick led a dedication ceremony for the memorial next to the Veterans Memorial at Riverview Park in Sebastian Tuesday – the 89th birthday of Dorchester survivor Ernie Heaton who was a staff sergeant at the time he was on the ship.
“It makes me want to cry, really,” Heaton said looking out at the crowd of a few hundred people. He thanked them for taking the time to attend the ceremony and remember the Four Chaplains.
Heaton said the chaplains serve as a reminder to respect all people – regardless of race, creed or religion.
The chaplains, each of a different faith, did not call out to someone of their own faith before thrusting their own lifejackets into other’s hands. Instead, they helped those they could as the ship began to sink into the frigid waters of the northern Atlantic near Greenland, struck by a German torpedo.
The chaplains were George Fox, Protestant; Alexander Goode, Jewish; Clark Poling, Dutch Reformed; and John Washington, Roman Catholic. Together, they gave up their lifejackets and went down with the ship offering words of comfort and prayer to others who would also sink into the ocean with the ship.
Of the 902 aboard the USAT Dorchester on Feb. 3, 1943, only 230, including Heaton, survived. Heaton and one other are all who are left from the Dorchester.
The dedication of the memorial was held Tuesday, Heaton’s 89th birthday.
Wapnick said the Four Chaplains represent the good that can happen when all work together – a lesson affirmed while working on the interfaith committee to put together the memorial.
He said the members learned to put their differences aside, ask questions of each other, listen to the answers and walk away trusting each other and being friends.
The granite monument will be installed atop a limestone boulder and placed in the middle of a reflecting pool near the Veterans Memorial. An eternal flame will be placed with the monument.
As organizers unveiled the monument, Heaton said, “It is without a doubt the real deal.”
The monument’s construction is expected to take a few months and could be ready before the Fourth of July ceremony and celebration.