by Father Michael W. Panicali
The passage of time is making it less and less likely for a person to stand shoulder to shoulder with a veteran of the Korean War, and even less likely with a veteran of World War II. That both would also happen to be prisoners of war? The chances are quite slight in 2024.
Needless to say, the significance was not lost upon me, when, for the second year in a row, I was graced to be in the presence of two such men, when they gathered with others to remember the heroics of four men whom they uniquely can call their contemporaries: the Four Chaplains of the SS Dorchester who went down with their ship as it sunk in the freezing cold waters of the North Atlantic in the early morning hours of Feb. 3, 1943, claiming 672 souls, in the midst of the horrific Second World War.
World War II veteran and POW Harold Radish, age 99, who saw combat from 1943-1945, and Korean War veteran and POW James Faulkner, age 92, who saw combat from 1950- 1953, were among the many heroes recently gathered at Fort Hamilton Army Base marking the 81st anniversary of the sinking of the SS Dorchester, to remember the heroism that ensued as this great tragedy unfolded.
The Four Chaplains prayed to Almighty God for the lives of those aboard the torpedoed SS Dorchester. After giving up their own life vests, guiding and ministering to those aboard the ship until its last moments afloat, they offered up prayers and hymns as they linked arm and arm on the ship’s deck as it slipped under the frigid waters, sacrificing their lives in service to Almighty God, their country, and to their neighbor.
On behalf of Bishop Robert Brennan, at the invitation of longtime St. Anselm’s parishioner Chaplain Robert J. Guddahl of the Kings County American Legion, who helps to organize this remarkable yearly event, I delivered the invocation to the many veterans, current Army soldiers, and civilians gathered to pray and remember the sacrifice of the Four Chaplains: Lt. George Fox, a Methodist; Lt. Alexander Goode, a rabbi; Lt. John Washington, a Roman Catholic priest; and Lt. Clark Poling, a Dutch Reformed minister.
As I reflect on their sacrifice, I am reminded of the Franciscan priest St. Maximillian Kolbe giving over his life in the death camp of Auschwitz, to take the place of a father who feared for his wife and two sons depending on him.
St. Maximillian, a victim of the same awful world war as the Four Chaplains, and the Holocaust that accompanied it, offered hymns and prayers, especially the holy rosary, to encourage fellow prisoners, all throughout his time at Auschwitz, and most notably throughout the final weeks of his life as he ministered from the “chapel” of his starvation cell, surrounded by the cries of those starving to death.
St. Maximillian succumbed to the lethal injection eventually administered to him when he did not die from the intended starvation, giving glory to God through his final earthly moments.
Someone in the congregation at Fort Hamilton Army Base that day did ask me if Catholic priest Lt. John Washington’s actions could be a cause for sainthood. Confident that they could be, I volunteered to bring this cause to the Diocese of Brooklyn, unaware if any such cause has been initiated elsewhere.
That remarkable day, complete with many speeches, prayers, and hymns, linked the past with what is still present. As long as veterans Harold Radish and James Faulkner continue to be with us, they will witness to the heroism and service that has kept our great country free, and has made the world a safer place.
And, most importantly, they will witness to the power and strength of the human soul, especially in the face of the greatest of obstacles and challenges, when one certainly meets God and abides in Him for the strength to endure the worst of cruelties.
Father Michael W. Panicali is the Parochial Vicar for St. Helen, Howard Beach, and the local chaplain of Rosary For Life, Inc. He is also chaplain of Knights of Columbus, Council 6134, Most Precious Blood-Sts. Simon and Jude, Bath Beach.