MIDDLEBORO — A memorial service to the four chaplains will take place at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2 at the First Baptist Church, 111 Plymouth St., Middleboro.

The service remembers the sacrifice of four Army chaplains who were aboard the SS Dorchester when the vessel was struck by a German submarine and sunk on Feb. 3, 1943. More than 600 of the 904 men aboard died.

After the ship was struck, the chaplains helped soldiers board lifeboats and gave up their own life jackets when the supply ran out, according to published accounts. The chaplains joined arms, said prayers, and sang hymns as they went down with the ship, survivors remembered.

The four chaplains were Methodist minister the Reverend George L. Fox, Reform Rabbi Alexander D. Goode, Catholic priest Father John P. Washington and Reformed Church in America minister the Rev. Clark V. Poling.  Each of the four chaplains was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the Purple Heart.