World War II United States Army Chaplain. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he attended the University of Cincinnati, Ohio graduating in 1934. He then graduated from Hebrew Union College in 1937 and received a Ph.D. from John Hopkins University in 1940. From July 1937 until 1942, he served Beth Israel synagogue in York, Pennsylvania. In early 1941, he applied to the United States Navy as a chaplain but was declined. After the attack on Pearl Harbor by the forces of Imperial Japan on December 7, 1941, he applied to the United States Army and was accepted as a chaplain, receiving his appointment on July 21, 1942. He was assigned to training at the Chaplain School at Harvard, where he first met his classmates, Methodist chaplain, George Fox; Dutch Reformed chaplain, Clark Poling; and Catholic chaplain, John Washington. He was then assigned to the 333rd Airbase Squadron in Goldsboro, North Carolina. In October 1942, he was transferred to Camp Myles Standish in Taunton, Massachusetts where he was, by chance, reunited with his three classmates. In January 1943, the four chaplains embarked on the converted ocean liner USAT Dorchester, which was transporting 902 soldiers to Britain via Greenland as part of convoy SG-19. On February 2, 1943, a German U-boat fired on the convoy; a torpedo struck the Dorchester shortly after midnight. The Dorchester lost all power, and in the cold and dark men scrambled for the lifeboats. The four chaplains organized the men as best they could, handing out life jackets from storage, encouraging the men with prayers, and tending wounded as best as possible. When it became apparent that there were not enough life jackets, each of the chaplains took off his own life jacket and gave each to a young soldier. When the last of the undamaged lifeboats were away, the chaplains prayed with those left behind on the sinking ship. Less than thirty minutes after being hit, the Dorchester sank with the loss of 672 men, including the Four Chaplains. The survival of some 230 men was directly credited to the chaplains' actions. On December 19, 1944, each of the chaplains was posthumously awarded a purple heart and a distinguished service cross. A US postage stamp was issued in 1948 commemorating the Four Chaplains. A chapel in their honor was dedicated on February 3, 1951, by President Harry Truman at Grace Baptist Church in Philadelphia. On July 14, 1960, Congress created the Four Chaplains Medal which was presented to each of the chaplains' next of kin by the Secretary of the Army. For their courage and self-sacrifice, by Act of Congress, February 3 is designated Four Chaplains Day.