On November 11, Veterans Day, a plaque was dedicated to Harvard’s Four Chaplains who met at Harvard’s Army Chaplains School in 1942. The Four Chaplains reunited on the U.S.A.T. Dorchester in route to Greenland when the ship was torpedoed by an enemy u-boat. They gave up their own life vests to save others and died together, singing hymns. The morning’s keynote speaker, Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff, a retired Navy chaplain, reflected on the chaplains’ legacy and their lessons for the modern day:
“The fact that they worked side by side broke down walls, shattered ceilings,” he said. “Today there might also be a Hindu or a Muslim or a Buddhist chaplain. There may be a woman or a black chaplain side by side. We have to remember today that we are recognizing all chaplains, all races, all genders.”
Harvard’s Memorial Church was dedicated 85 years ago to Harvard’s faculty, students, and alumni who perished in World War I. Read the full article in the Harvard Gazette here.
