Lt. Samuel Silver, Jewish chaplain of the Marine Corps, was designated “Chaplain of the Year” by the Navy last week and was today given the annual Four Chaplain’s Award at the dedication of the Four Chaplain’s Memorial Fountain at National Memorial Park.
The fountain is dedicated to the memory of four chaplains of the Jewish, Protestant and Catholic faiths who died on the torpedoed troop ship “Dorchester” during World War II after giving their life belts to soldiers. Also honored today were a Protestant who was named” Chaplain of the Year” by the Air Force, and a Catholic who was similarly honored by the Army.
The citation to Rabbi Sobel, who was wounded in action in Korea, said that “as the only Jewish chaplain in the First Marine Division he, without regard to his personal safety made frequent trips to the front lines and spent many days and nights with the men under heavy artillery and mortar fire in order to bring them the strength and consolation of their faith as well as many physical comforts and food.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
