The annual Four Chaplains Service sponsored by the VFW Post 2179 will take place Sunday, February 2 at 2 P.M. at the post home at 1 Veterans Lane and Route 36, Port Monmouth. USAT Dorchester

All are invited to attend the historic event and stay for refreshments following the Service.

The Four Chaplains Service is an annual event that commemorates the selfless acts of valor of the four Chaplains who perished on the USAT Dorchester on February 3, 1943.

The Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation was formed to further the cause of “unity without uniformity” that was exhibited by the chaplains of four different religions and encourages goodwill and cooperation among all people.

The chaplains, George Lansing Fox, a Methodist minister from Pennsylvania, Alexander Good, a rabbi from New York, Father John Washington, a Catholic priest from New Jersey and the Reverend Clark V. Poling a Reformed Church of American minister from Ohio were serving aboard the transport ship that left New York January 23,1943 enroute to Greenland, with 900 soldiers aboard, one of three ships escorted by the Coast Guard.

In the early morning of February 3, the ship, off Newfoundland in the North Atlantic, was torpedoed by a German submarine, U-223.

Power was eliminated on the ship and the terrified soldiers, many not wearing their life vests and asleep in their bunks in the bowels of the ship, had to find their way to the deck to escape. The four chaplains assisted the men in boarding reaching the deck and getting into lifeboats, then gave their own life jackets to those without them. The four chaplains then joined arms, said prayers and sang hymns as they went down with the ship. Of the 900 aboard, only 230 were rescued, many dying from the freezing water and temperatures before assistance could arrive.

Each of the chaplains was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the Chaplain’s Medal of Honor. While nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honor, they were ineligible since their action did not occur while they were engaged in combat with the enemy. Congress created a special medal design for them holding the same weight and importance as the Medal of Honor and designed for the four chaplains alone.

Each of the chaplains was relatively new to the service, and all were first Lieutenants in the Army. Rabbi Goode, Reverend Poling and Father Washington had all served as boy scout leaders before their military service. The four chaplains first met while undergoing training and preparing for their assignments in the European theater at the Army Chaplains School at Harvard university.

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More than 600 friends, neighbors, and local residents turned out for the Maggie Gibson Fund Raising extravaganza at the VFW Post Home on Route 36 in Port Monmouth Saturday, showing love and affection for vibrant young Steven Institute of Technology graduate who is undergoing chemo treatment for Hodgkins Lymphoma.

Maggie, who is 23 years old and lives in Middletown, recently graduated from Stevens with a degree in bio medical engineering, She was diagnosed within months of graduation last September and has been facing medical procedures for future fertility in addition to other medications for cancer. She had graduated in May with honors and placed first in her Senior Entrepreneurship project. That award earned her the prestigious Ansary Prize for Entrepreneurship in Biomechanics.

Because of the prohibitive cost of the medical procedures and those related to the cancer diagnosis, the Ancient Order of Hibernians Monmouth 2 spearheaded the fundraiser to assist in her ongoing fight.

This week’s event raised more than $43,000, coupled with another $21,000 raised through a GoFundMe page.

“Despite the inclement weather,” Hibernians Monmouth 2 vice president John Foy said, “people were committed to attend the event, even in the rain, to support Margaret Gibson because she and her immediate family of three younger brothers and her parents Kevin and Patricia Gibson have a long history of Christian charity in this community.

That Christian Charity dates back to Maggie’s mother’s family, the Colemans, another family who live in Middletown.” Both families have been lifetime supporters not only to the community but in many ways also through the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians of which Maggie is a member, and other Church and civic groups. 

Many attendees and donors were Hodgkin Lymphoma survivors or came in honor of family members lost to this cancer. They came because she had many good friends from St. Mary’s Elementary School and St. John Vianney High School and her family has strong roots in the community.

They came out because when the AOH/LAOH support a cause the community always recognizes the need and comes out to support their cause.

The Go Fund Me fund raiser established where people can support Maggie will remain active for another month Donate to Support Maggie Gibson’s Fight Against Lymphoma . The fund was organized by Jerry Doherty and is still in need of support. 

Donations and other correspondence can be sent to AOH Div. 2 P.O. Box 852, New Monmouth, NJ 07748

Maggie has not been able to work during treatment on Doctor’s orders; her recent test results indicate her treatment will continue into late spring and early summer at this point. She expresses deep thanks, gratitude, blessings and prayers for all those friends, family and strangers who have made her needs and concerns their own matter for which they want to help.

Maggie

The Middletown Historical Society is inviting new membership in the organization that has accomplished many actions and activities throughout the past year, encouraging all local residents interested in reserving local history to take a more active role in its preservation.

Society President Tom Valenti noted the Society welcomed 120 new members during the past year and held a Speaker Series that brought eight different presentations to residents. The Speaker Series included both historians and authors who educated and entertained close to 600 attendees at presentations offered by them in person and online.

During the past year, the Society secured a lease on the historic Middletown Train Station and has already announced its plans to convert the structure into a museum.

The Society also competed restoration of the original Lightfoot Map of Monmouth County, dating to 1851. The Map is now on display in the courtroom at Middletown Town Hall.

The Society continues to maintain its exhibit of Middletown postcards and a painting of Kings Highway in the main foyer at Town Hall and presented its inaugural award for Contributions to Middletown History.

The Society is inviting all who may have photos of the historic train station to share them with the Society. The station operated from 1876 through 1986, 100 years of providing passenger service for the service that runs from Bay Head to New York. Any photos will enable the Society to help tell the story of the building as well as record renovations that may be undertaken. Stories and unique memories of the station would also be welcomed.

The Society received funds from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation to place a sign, expected to be unveiled this summer, that recognizes the history of the station and the railroad lines it served. On Saturday, Feb. 15, there will be a series of Open House sessions in the Train Station for 2025 membership members only, because of space constraints. The sessions will be limited to ten persons for each tour because of the space limitations,, and members interested in participating will receive information closer to the events.

For more information on the Middletown Historical Society and to enroll in the Society or renew memberships, visit the Middletown Historical Society website.

Middletown Historical Society