Envelope and stamps commemorating chaplains killed on a ship sunk by a German U-boat
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 3.625 inches (9.208 cm) | Width: 6.500 inches (16.51 cm)
Creator(s)
- United States Postal Service (Issuer)
- United States. Bureau of Engraving and Printing (Printer)
Archival History
The envelope and stamps were acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1990.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection
Scope and Content
Commemorative envelope and stamps with blank stationery, depicting four United States Army chaplains who died after their ship was sunk by a German U boat. Rabbi Alexander Goode, Reverend George L. Fox, Reverend Clark V. Poling, and Reverend John P. Washington were among the 902 people onboard the Army Transport Dorchester during the early hours of February 3, 1943, when it was fatally hit by a torpedo from a German U boat in the North Atlantic Ocean. The explosion killed and wounded many men, and created chaos amongst the rest. The four chaplains attempted to help and comfort the others aboard, and began distributing lifejackets. When they ran out of lifejackets, the four chaplains gave up their own. As the ship sank, they linked arms and prayed together on the slanting deck. The four chaplains were among the 672 men on the Dorchester who died. They were posthumously awarded with the Distinguished Service Cross, the Purple Heart, and a Special Medal for Heroism, which was equivalent to the Medal of Honor, as men who died in service but not under fire. In 1948, the United States Post Office Department issued a three-cent stamp commemorating the four chaplains.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Unused, rectangular envelope made from cream-colored paper with commemorative stamps and design printed in black ink. On the left side of the envelope is an illustration depicting an open book with square headshots of the four chaplains in military uniforms. Above the book is the name of the memorial organization, next to a cross and tablets adorned with the Star of David. Below the book is a banner with a memorial slogan, and a sketch of the four men, arms linked, standing on a boat deck, knee-deep in water. In the upper right corner of the envelope are four, identical, perforated postage stamps, rubber stamped by a black cancellation mark. Each stamp depicts the silhouette of a sinking ship, with a life preserver in the foreground water. In the sky above the ship are images of the four chaplains, depicted from the shoulders up, and a slogan printed across the top. In the lower right corner of the envelope is a name and address, printed in black ink. The back of the envelope has a triangular flap lined with unused adhesive. The outer edges have light creasing.
front, center, stamped, black ink : WASHINGTON / MAY 28 / 9-AM / 1948 / D.C. / FIRST DAY OF ISSUE front, bottom right, typed, black ink : HAROLD SCOTT / 243 E. MAIN ST. / ALLIANCE, OHIO front, bottom right corner, handwritten, pencil : 3 [superscript 00]
People
- Poling, Clark Vandersall, 1910-1943.
- Fox, George Lansing, 1900-1943.
- Goode, Alexander D. (Alexander David), 1911-1943.
- Washington, John P. (John Patrick), -1943.
Corporate Bodies
- Germany. Kriegsmarine
- Dorchester (Ship)
- United States. Army
Subjects
- World War, 1939-1945--Atlantic Ocean.
- World War, 1939-1945--Commemoration--United States.
- Washington (D.C.)
- World War, 1939-1945--Casualties--American.
- Rabbis--United States.
- Purple Heart.
- Distinguished Service Cross (U.S.)
- Executive departments
- United States.
- United States. Army--Chaplains.
- Type VII U-boat.
Genre
- Object
- Stamps.
- Office Equipment and Supplies