Sebastian mayor proclaims February 2025 “Interfaith in Action” at Four Chaplains memorial

Mayor Bob McParton read a proclamation at a memorial service Saturday in Sebastian declaring February 2025 a period of “Interfaith in Action” to honor the Four Chaplains who died when the U.S. Army transport Dorchester sank during World War II.

The proclamation was read at an American Legion Post 189 ceremony that included a presentation of colors, the Star-Spangled Banner, an invocation, a keynote address by Rabbi Stephen Lewis Fudge of Temple Beth Shalom in Vero Beach, a wreath blessing, rifle volleys and taps.

The proclamation text recounted that “enemy action sank the United States Army transport Dorchester off the coast of Greenland on Feb. 3, 1943, with a loss of 672 lives,” and named the four chaplains the proclamation listed: the Rev. George Lansing Fox, Rabbi Alexander D. Goode, the Rev. Clark V. Poling and Father John P. Washington. Mayor McParton read the proclamation as part of the program and did not seek or record a council vote on the matter.

In his keynote, Rabbi Stephen Lewis Fudge told attendees the chaplains volunteered for service and ministered to soldiers of all faiths aboard the Dorchester. He recounted the widely told account that, after the ship was torpedoed, the four chaplains gave their life jackets to other service members and went down together, linked arm in arm, each praying in his own tradition. “Their immortal sacrifice remains to inspire us,” Rabbi Fudge said.

The event included other speakers and participants identified in the program: Richard Felden, commander of American Legion Post 189, served as master of ceremonies; Chaplain Earl Eisenbach of the Sons of the American Legion led the invocation and benediction; Michael Hyde of the U.S. Merchant Marine escorted the wreath and performed Amazing Grace; and members of the Ladies Auxiliary of Post 189 (Anne Feldhan and Beverly Puzo) carried the wreath. The program also listed Vice Mayor Fred Jones and a representative identified in the transcript as Colonel Young of the Indian River County Veterans Council among guests.

The transcript of remarks at the ceremony contains differing numeric figures about the Dorchester loss: the proclamation text read by the mayor states “672 lives,” while Rabbi Fudge said at one point that about 620 men perished and described the ship as carrying roughly 920 men. The ceremony materials and speakers consistently described the event as a remembrance of the chaplains’ interfaith service rather than as a policy or legislative action.

No formal votes or municipal actions were recorded at the memorial service. The program concluded after the playing of taps and the retiring of colors.

The American Legion Post 189 memorial is part of ongoing local observances that commemorate the Dorchester sinking and the Four Chaplains’ interfaith sacrifice; organizers and speakers urged attendees to remember their example of service across religious lines.