The USAT Dorchester, a former civilian liner built in 1926 and converted during World War II into a troop transport, was sailing through icy North Atlantic waters south of Greenland on February 3, 1943, after severe storms and amid the threat of German U-boats, when U-223 torpedoed the ship shortly after midnight, destroying the engine room, killing more than 150 men, and forcing an immediate abandonment of the vessel. In the confusion, frozen equipment, smashed or swamped lifeboats, and shock cost many more lives. At the bow, four U.S. Army chaplains—George L. Fox, Alexander D. Goode, John P. Washington, and Clark V. Poling—gave their life jackets to soldiers who had none, helped calm and direct the men, and remained aboard praying together as the ship sank at 1:20 a.m. with their arms intertwined. Only 229 survived and 675 were lost. The USCG Escanaba and USCG Comanche rescued survivors from the water, rafts, and the only two successfully launched lifeboats, then brought them to Greenland; the rescue also marked the Escanaba's first use of rescue swimmers in survival suits. The four chaplains, who had come from Methodist, Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Reformed Church backgrounds and had entered Army chaplain service in 1942 after lives of religious leadership and study, were each posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and Distinguished Service Cross.