Clark V . Poling Clark Vandersall Poling ( August 7 , 1910 – February 3 , 1943 ) was a minister in the Reformed Church in America and a lieutenant in the United States Army . He was one of the Four Chaplains who gave their lives to save other soldiers during the sinking of the USAT " Dorchester " during World War II . Life . Poling was born in Columbus , Ohio to Dr . Daniel Alfred Poling ( 1884 - 1968 ) , an Evangelical minister , and Susan Jane Vandersall ( 1882 - 1918 ) . He was raised in Auburndale , Massachusetts where he attended Whitney Public School . He had three siblings , Daniel , Mary and Elizabeth . His mother died in 1918 ; his father remarried in 1919 and converted to the Baptist faith , becoming an ordained minister . The family moved to Poughkeepsie , New York and Poling attended Oakwood High School where he excelled on the football team . After graduation he attended Hope College in Michigan and then Rutgers University in New Jersey , graduating in 1933 . He then attended Yale Divinity School , graduating in 1936 . He then took up a position as pastor of the First Reformed Church in Schenectady , New York where he settled with his wife Elizabeth Jung and their son Clark , Jr . ( " Corky " ) . A daughter , Susan Elizabeth , was born three months after his death . At the outbreak of war in 1941 , Poling immediately volunteered for service as an Army chaplain in the footsteps of his father , who had served as a chaplain during World War I . He initially served in Mississippi with a transport regiment . Death . In late 1942 , Poling was transferred to Camp Myles Standish in Taunton , Massachusetts and attended Chaplains School at Harvard University . There he met fellow chaplains George L . Fox , Alexander D . Goode and John P . Washington . In January 1943 , the chaplains embarked on board the USAT " Dorchester " , which was transporting over 900 soldiers to the United Kingdom via Greenland . 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 . 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 on February 3 , 1951 by President Harry S . Truman at Grace Baptist Church in Philadelphia . The Four Chaplains ' Medal was established by act of Congress on July 14 , 1960 , and was presented posthumously to their next of kin by Secretary of the Army Wilber M . Brucker at Ft . Myer , Virginia on January 18 , 1961 . Poling is honored with a feast day along with the other Four Chaplains on the liturgical of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America on February 3 . The high point of the town of Deering , NH , formerly known as Wolf Hill ( 1570 ft . ) , was renamed Clark Summit in Poling ' s honor , and a memorial plaque was placed at the summit outlook . " Located on what was once family land , Clark thought this was a peaceful place and would often go there to reflect on big decisions in his life . In fact , it was at Wolf Hill ’ s summit that Clark decided to become a minister . "