Temple Beth El of Patchogue hosted the Four Chaplains Remembrance program on Sunday, Feb. 19. The ceremony, sponsored by the Suffolk County American Legion, honored and told the heroic story of Lt. George L. Fox and Lt. Clark V. Poling, Protestant ministers; Lt. Alexander D. Goode, a Jewish rabbi; and Lt. John P. Washington, a Roman Catholic priest. The four clergy members, each of a different faith, sacrificed their lives and provided comfort and courage for fellow passengers on the SS Dorchester, a converted wartime troop carrier during World War II, as it sank into the Atlantic in January 1943.

The Distinguished Service Cross and Purple Heart were awarded posthumously and presented to the next of kin. A one-time-only posthumous Special Medal for Heroism was authorized by Congress and awarded by President Eisenhower.

At the event, most recently held at Patchogue’s Temple Beth El nearly a decade ago, the Four Chaplains were portrayed by Suffolk County American Legion adjutant Jim Beecher; rabbi Ilan Pardo, Temple Beth El of Patchogue; pastor Claire Repsholdt, Lutheran Church of Our Savior of Patchogue; and deacon Marty McIndoe, St. Francis de Sales of Patchogue, who read their respective biographies.

Additional attendees included Suffolk County Cmdr. Steve Antonacci, Suffolk County chaplain Thomas Bergin, Suffolk County auxiliary chaplain Lois Meyer, 3rd Division adjutant Richard Knotson, and commander of Sayville Post 651 David Isaacs. Bergin predominantly led the ceremony.

“Yet, in the moment of decision, none of them paused to ask the young soldiers, ‘Are you Protestant?,’ ‘Are you a Catholic,’ ‘Are you a Jew?’ It did not matter. Before them stood four human beings in desperate need, and they all had committed themselves to serve God and their fellow men,” Isaacs read from the story.

After closing remarks were offered by Meyer, Bergin returned to the podium to offer a moment of reflection, in which he posed the question of what the chaplains were thinking about when they realized their final moments on the earth were upon them. All he could offer, he said, was what he guessed they were thinking: “I’ll walk with God from this day on, His helping hand I’ll lean upon. This is my prayer, my humble plea, may the lord be ever with me.”

The synagogue was filled mostly with American Legion members, their friends and family members, as well as congregants of Temple Beth El. All attendees concluded the ceremony by joining hands to collectively sing “God Bless America,” before debriefing over refreshments.

As the legion brings the event around to various churches and synagogues, Bergin said this was an ideal time to return to Temple Beth El, especially as Rabbi Pardo just joined the congregation in September.

“This was a good idea to introduce him not only to us, but his own parishioners,” Bergin said.