- Alexander D. Goode
Infobox Military Person
name= Alexander D. Goode
born= birth date|1911|5|10
died= death date and age|1943|2|3|1911|5|10
placeofbirth=Columbus, Ohio
placeofdeath= USAT "Dorchester",Atlantic Ocean
caption=
nickname=
allegiance= flagicon|USA United States of America
serviceyears= 1942 to 1943
rank= Chaplain lieutenant
branch= flagicon|USAUnited States Army
commands=
unit=
battles=World War II
awards=Chaplain's Medal for Heroism ·Distinguished Service Cross·Purple Heart
laterwork=Alexander D. Goode (
May 10 ,1911 –February 3 ,1943 ) was arabbi 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
Born in 1911, one of four children to a
Brooklyn rabbi , Goode excelled at sports at high school inWashington D.C. He became arabbi after graduating from theUniversity of Cincinnati and in 1937Hebrew Union College . In 1940 he received his Ph.D fromJohns Hopkins University . He was married in 1935 to Teresa Flax, niece ofAl Jolson , with whom he had one daughter, Rosalie.Goode served as a rabbi in
Marion, Indiana andYork, Pennsylvania .In 1941, he applied to become a Navy chaplain but was turned down. The following year he was accepted into the Army, being posted to Harvard where he studied at the chaplain's school in preparation for deployment to Europe followed by brief service at an
airbase inGoldsboro, North Carolina . In October 1942 he joined the other members of the Four Chaplains and was detailed to embark on the "Dorchester" a few months later.Death
In late 1942, Goode was transferred to Camp Myles Standish in
Taunton, Massachusetts and attended Chaplains School atHarvard University . There he met fellow chaplainsGeorge L. Fox ,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=Goode, Alexander D.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= US army chaplain killed in action
DATE OF BIRTH=May 10 ,1911
PLACE OF BIRTH=Brooklyn, New York
DATE OF DEATH=3 February ,1943
PLACE OF DEATH=USAT "Dorchester",Atlantic Ocean
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.