Four Chaplins Should Never Be Forgotten
By Gary Moore
I remember it was 1957 and I was in sixth grade when our teacher Dora Ladd did her unit on Vermont history. She told us about the Four Chaplins who had given up their lives so others could live when their ship was sunk during WWII. One of the four was Rev George L. Fox from Gilman.
I never forgot that bit of history and, over the years, each time I drove by the historic marker commemorating Fox in East Concord, I would think about what it took for the four to willingly give up their lives for others.
It turns out I was missing an important part of the story, namely that George L. Fox lived and preached next door in Gilman. Today, thanks to dedicated volunteers, the Rev George L. Fox Memorial Chapel on 52 Elm Street in Gilman tells the story of that remarkable man.
Thanks to my friend Art Cohn who is a nautical archaeologist, co-founder of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum and one of the most knowledgeable people of the Lake Champlain relics, I now know a lot more about Fox, his family and the other three Chaplins.
Art had talked to me about the possibility of visiting the Memorial Chapel which he had not known about until recently. Last month we did just that along with our wives thanks to Scott Leigh who came down from Canaan to give us a tour during which we learned so much.
Leigh is Vice Chair and Renovation Chair of the nine person board that is responsible for the memorial. They are assisted by a dedicated group of volunteers who give countless hours to the make the memorial what is is today and will become in the future.
For those who never learned of that fateful day during WWII, the following is a summary. On the night of February 3, 1943, after a German U-boat struck the transport ship with a fatal blow, Rev. Fox and three fellow chaplains helped guide soldiers to safety, giving up their life jackets and their places in the lifeboats, ultimately perishing together in prayer and unity. Their courage and compassion transcended faith, background, and rank, leaving a legacy that still inspires today.
That is the part that many of us knew but his life before that is also remarkable.
Fox entered WWI underage at 17 and served as a medical orderly saving countless soldiers on the battlefields on the Western Front in France. He was credited for carrying or even dragging the wounded to safety under enemy fire.
He was shot and repeatedly exposed to mustard gas without benefit of a gas mask which left him with permanent nerve damage. On the day before the Armistice was signed, a building collapsed on him breaking his back. He was discharged a highly decorated hero at age19.
After the war he left a successful career as an accountant to enter the ministry. His life as an itinerant Methodist Minister in meager, sometimes dire situations never made him doubt his calling or lower his spirit. It was the height of the Depression, a very dark period. He tended to his flock, and is said to have done so with a jovial disposition even though he and his family survived on next to nothing.
Gilman was his very last home church before answering the call to return to the service of those who would soon experience the atrocities of war.
The Gilman church had sat vacant for 12 years when the Vermont Department of the American Legion and Auxiliary decided to buy it and make it into a memorial chapel in honor of Rev. Fox.
Scott Leigh was the American Legion Post #47 Commander who said upon learning the church would be sold and possibly turned into housing or some other use said, “That is not going to happen. That man walked those floors and we need to save it to make it a memorial to him if nothing else.”
A fund raising effort began and donations came from around Vermont and the rest of the county. Three months before she died Fox’s daughter gave a sizable gift to secure the purchase and honor her father.
Visitors to the chapel can explore a growing collection of historical artifacts, personal items, photographs, and written accounts that bring Rev. Fox’s story to life. These exhibits connect guests with the deeper meaning of service, community, and spiritual strength.
Whether you’re a history enthusiast, veteran, or simply seeking a peaceful place of reflection, the Rev. Fox Memorial offers a unique and moving experience. Just sitting in the pews looking at the photos of the four Chaplins and the life vests with the chaplins’ emblems is a moving experience.
His granddaughter said that, “After he was lost, my grandmother carried on his ministry becoming an ordained Methodist minister in her own right and devoted the rest of her life to keeping his memory and sacrifice alive in the hearts and minds of Americans.”
She added, “I would like to invite all of you to come and visit us and experience the magic we all feel when entering this historical and spiritual place in beautiful Gilman, Vermont.”
I urge you to check out the website, https://revfoxmemorialchapel.org/ and schedule a visit to learn more about Rev George L. Fox, the Four Chaplins and Vermont’s connection to the historical event.
The Immortals by Steven T. Collis is a good source of information about sinking of the Dorchester and the Four Chaplins. Your local library may have a copy.