- George L. Fox
Infobox Military Person
name= George L. Fox
born= birth date|1900|3|15
died= death date and age|1943|2|3|1900|3|15
placeofbirth=Lewistown, Pennsylvania
placeofdeath= USAT "Dorchester",Atlantic Ocean
placeofburial=
caption=
nickname=
allegiance= flagicon|USA United States of America
serviceyears= 1917 to ???? 1942 to 1943
rank= Chaplain lieutenant
branch= flagicon|USAUnited States Army
commands=
unit=
battles=World War I World War II
awards=Chaplain's Medal for Heroism Distinguished Service CrossSilver Star Purple Heart (2) French Croix de Guerre
laterwork=George L. Fox (
15 March ,1900 -3 February ,1943 ) was aMethodist minister and alieutenant in theUnited States Army . He was one of theFour Chaplains who gave their lives to save othersoldier s during the sinking of the USAT "Dorchester" duringWorld War II .Life
George L. Fox was born in
Lewistown, Pennsylvania in 1900, one of five children. At 17 he ran away to join the army and served on the Western Front duringWorld War I as a medical orderly, receiving thePurple Heart , theSilver Star and theCroix de Guerre for his meritorious service. Following the war, Fox completed high school and briefly worked for a Trust Company before studying atMoody Bible Institute andIllinois Wesleyan University , graduating in 1931. Fox married in 1923 and his son, Wyatt Ray was born a year later. Following graduation, Fox became an itinerant Methodist preacher, holding posts inDowns, Illinois andRye, New Hampshire before joining theBoston University School of Theology and becoming an ordained minister in 1934.That same year, he took over the church in
Waits, Vermont , and his daughter, Mary Elizabeth, was born. He remained inVermont , moving church twice and becoming the state chaplain and historian for theAmerican Legion . Following the outbreak of war, Fox joined the army again in 1942. His son enlisted in the Marine Corps on the same day. Fox was united with the otherFour Chaplains for his voyage to Europe later that year following a position in the chaplain's school inHarvard , and departed with over 900 soldiers on the "Dorchester" in January 1943.Death
In late 1942, Fox was transferred to Camp Myles Standish in
Taunton, Massachusetts and attended Chaplains School atHarvard University . There he met fellow chaplainsAlexander D. Goode ,Clark V. Poling andJohn P. Washington . In January 1943, the chaplains embarked on board the USAT "Dorchester", which was transporting over 900 soldiers to theUnited Kingdom viaGreenland .On
February 2 ,1943 the German submarine U-223 spotted the convoy on the move and closed with the ships, firing a torpedo which struck the "Dorchester" shortly after midnight. Hundreds of men packed the decks of the rapidly sinking ship and scrambled for the lifeboats. Several of the lifeboats had been damaged and the four chaplains began to organize frightened soldiers. They distributed life jackets from a locker; when the supply of life jackets ran out, each of the chaplains gave theirs to other soldiers. When the last lifeboats were away, the chaplains prayed with those unable to escape the sinking ship. 27 minutes after the torpedo struck, the "Dorchester" disappeared below the waves with 672 men still aboard. The last anyone saw of the four chaplains, they were standing on the deck, arms linked and praying together.cite web |url=http://www.fourchaplains.org/story.html |title=The Saga of the Four Chaplains |accessdate=2008-02-05 |publisher=The Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation]Remembrance
The four chaplains were all awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the
Purple Heart and received national acclaim for their courage and self-sacrifice. A chapel in their honor was dedicated onFebruary 3 ,1951 by PresidentHarry S. Truman at Grace Baptist Church inPhiladelphia . In 1961 theChaplain's Medal for Heroism was commissioned specifically for these four officers.References
Persondata
NAME=Fox, George L.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= US army chaplain killed in action
DATE OF BIRTH=15 March ,1900
PLACE OF BIRTH=Lewistown, Pennsylvania
DATE OF DEATH=3 February 1943
PLACE OF DEATH=USAT "Dorchester",Atlantic Ocean
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