 words at war citizens I'm going to tell you a story a story of four chaplains of the United States Army four chaplains who in the early hours of a February morning made a strong and beautiful bid chaplain Clark pulling north chaplain John Washington East I'll bid four clubs chaplain George Fox south I'll pass chaplain Alexander Good west I'll bid four hearts four men two Protestant ministers one Jewish rabbi one Catholic priest four men made a bid and a grateful nation will remember this night and for all time that the bid was four hearts national broadcasting company in cooperation with the council on books in wartime presents another words at war program tonight it's an adaptation a portion of captain L would see Nancy's book faith of our fighters our radio story particularly timely today because of brotherhood week concerns for clergyman and appropriately it was written for this series by a clergyman my father Timothy Maldy who submitted his script under the five-word title the bid was four hearts you were sleeping those cold February nights citizens you were sleeping quietly and while you were sleeping citizens the big gray shadows were out of the water convoy they call it convoy moving in the night carrying men and material for the United Nations convoy stepping cautiously over gray waters that are treacherous with submarines below the deck of the troop transport Dorchester four chaplains are sitting in offices quarters and suddenly there's a knock on the door chaplain's quarters oh step right in Jimmy nice and warm down here you asked me chaplains there's north of land against the hot I'm standing up there on deck looking for submarines and what do I get what do you get Jimmy I get me nose froze oh by the way gentlemen I'd like you to meet on you orderly Jimmy this is chaplain good how do you do glad to know you Jimmy and this is chaplain Fox and over here chaplain polling are you Jimmy glad to know you now please don't meet you oh by the way I got the altar all fixed up nice father Washington what I want to know now is who follows who in the church services well I'm saying massive seven o'clock Jimmy I know that fine but well what I want to know is does the Jewish service family or does the Protestant oh well perhaps chaplain polling might explain if you don't mind Jimmy you can arrange the altar for Protestant services after the job after chaplain Washington says man I get you is that agreeable to you chaplain good perfectly all right with me I'm holding my service at six if it doesn't make any difference chaplain Fox oh I know not at all now let me get this straight in other words chaplains first it's the Jewish service at 6 o'clock with no cross and the altar turn around right right then it's the Catholic service at 7 o'clock with the cross and the altar turn around the other way right right then it's the Protestant service with let me see the altar turn around the other way again right and then no chaplains this would be a heck of a lot easier for me if yous would only get to get it sometime moved steadily to the north and now that they were approaching Greenland the escort destroyers were beginning to tighten their screening lines the destroyers were getting nervous now and a certain skipper was getting nervous to the blackest pitch out there tonight Jackson yes any other reports we mean about the summer yes oh no sir nothing but we're running into high seas sure we're running into high seas what did you expect for the wind like that let's see the chart yes getting pretty close to Greenland yes I'm not close enough to suit me what do you mean sir right now Jackson we're riding deep in Germany's North Atlantic submarine zone and when you've got a wind like this in your face a submarine can do funny things these were the sounds that night the large sounds of wind and waves small friendly sounds of life both swinging in the debits muffled gray sound of boots keeping vigil on the bridge and then the night gets very quiet in the North Atlantic it gets very quiet in the dark cabin a chaplain has time to lie in his bunk and remember chaplain polling was remembering that night chaplain polling they call me chaplain somehow in this dark room the memory of that first fear comes back to me now I remember how you looked at me dad when I hear young minister open the door that what's the matter Clark dad I'm I'm no good I'm a favorite what's the trouble a man's dying now and I can't help did you try yes but I I just couldn't help him but maybe you tried too much Clark what do you mean I mean did you give God a chance well I now you go on back son go back to that man and remember you're nothing but an instrument in God's hands I'll never forget that dad an instrument in his hands that's all you are Clark polling dear God help me always to be your instrument and watch over corkie bumper and dad watch over Betty and all of us tonight I'm for remembering that night and always the memories ran straight to home a young rabbi was remembering that night chaplain good they call me funny lying here in this room I wonder why yet I don't wonder why I know the reason I suppose the reason could go back to a day in French class I'm thinking of you now Teresa my lovely wife I remember how you looked that first day I spoke to you back at Eastern we were just kids mind if I sit next to you miss blacks no I I forgot my French book I thought maybe I might look on with someone oh I see this is the second time you forgot your French book Mr. Good I know I might forget it tomorrow too yes we were very young but even then Teresa I knew I wanted to be near you always I wanted to be near everything that's good I wanted to be happy I guess that's it in a nutshell wanting to be happy everyone wants to be happy everyone oh God my father look down on us tonight look down on Rosalie and Ruth and Ethel and my wife Teresa and God help us all help all men to find ultimate happens there was time for remembering the border troop transport and while men were remembering the convoy was moving north another day came another day passed there was an entertainment show the show but the news to sing some funny songs you know what I mean well anyway he used to sing them until one day the chaplain heard him and the chaplain didn't like them songs butch was singing so he walks up the butch who was playing a pianist he and he says young man do you know the 10 Commandments butch looked at the chaplain scratches head and said you got me there buddy but if you whistle a couple of bars that they could be able to follow you sounds that night citizens they were happy sounds and there was silence too later the silence that always returned in the night left a man alone with his remembering chaplain Fox was remembering that night chaplain Fox they call me they weren't too sure of me the first time they saw me I remember how they looked when they asked me the question your Methodist minister yes hmm George Fox born in Lewiston Pennsylvania hmm 1900 is it yes it hmm 1900 don't you think you're a bit too well old for army service sir oh I don't think so sir quite a rigorous life you know yes I suspect that sir I suppose you also know that a chaplain's life will be far different from that shall we say the congenial surroundings of a parish in Vermont I quite understand hmm I wonder if you quite understand oh I think I understand war that's what you mean mm-hmm you do understand war yes mm-hmm so many people think they do well I was engaged in active duty with the 2nd Division World War 1 wounded in combat sir oh see the purple heart well silver star my crowd again with palms sir yes palms I also have a son who was a Marine in this war and yes of course you see I think I do understand war and naturally naturally mm-hmm you laughed when I told you that Mary Elizabeth yes I'd like to see the sun shining again in Gilman Vermont Lord I'd love to see it again the sunshine in the hills Mary Elizabeth and Wyatt and you my wife yes it'll be a great day Lord when this old fox can come home to all his cuts again gray ships were still moving north and the slow procedure on the high seas was being written in the log but there were some things that were not written on the log Jimmy the chaplain's orderly was shining candlesticks that afternoon when somebody not what can I do for you Sergeant I was looking for one of the chaplains the chaplains is busy what do you want well it's about a lot of I wrote to my girlfriend girlfriend yeah well for crying out loud what do you want the chaplains for well it's oh I get you oh you mean you want a little help sort of yeah that's right I I don't know spelling so good well I didn't just say so in the first place here give me the letter I'll give it the okay for you Sergeant I hear you I happen to know a little something about this sort of thing me being an orderly look don't get that envelope dirty okay take it easy I want me hands you know Sergeant being a chaplain's orderly you get to know how to handle these minor details in fact two more weeks hanging around these chaplains I'll be able to give out what me so okay where's the letter here and be careful it took me three hours to do it let me see now where is on the other page oh here we are did puts put Sergeant is that her name well it's what I call her sergeant you know puts is no name for a self-respectful dame she was baptized wasn't she well I guess so baptism is a sacrament in case you don't know Sergeant yeah so call her by a baptismal name see okay okay now what is her baptismal name my cell that's a nice name sergeant and here I'll write it for you and they are just for the fun of it how would you spell my cell as I did you got me did puts are you feeling I'm fine I hope you are the same about getting married when I get back are you gonna marry this name Sergeant you bet I am when I get back is she a good girl good you know what I mean sure she's good why do you all right all right keep your shirt on I'm only trying to tell you sergeant that the only kind of a girl with coming home to is a good girl the chaplains I'll tell you the same thing yes the chaplains will tell you the chaplains told you many things and in the quiet hours of chaplain has time to tell himself something chaplain Washington they call me the altar boys call me father John there was a time when I thought I'd never get quite used to being called father and times when I wondered what it meant to be a priest what has it meant to be a priest though being a priest means many things it means you Lord the eyes and lips and mouth of you speaking again those those words over bread and wine that's my mass my priesthood is you Lord in the long hours of the confession that's the way you wanted it Lord whose sins you shall loose that's what you said I have loosed have liberated did my hand in absolution yes it's many things being a priest it's the babies I washed clean with your baptism boys and girls I fed with the bread of life the young men and women I've made one in the lasting bonds of your marriage it's the weary heads and hands I've touched with the strong oils of your extreme action oh gentle Christ thanks for all this and especially thanks for her I see your lovely face in this dark room and I'm remembering a morning long ago in the kitchen trying to break the news to you John what seems to be troubling you mom would that would it make much difference if the it I mean you mean you want to go away to be a priest yes sure and didn't I know it all the while well it'll mean a lot of work and worry for you mom I mean all the kids at home and and everything and and well John what greater blessing could I work and worry for than to see you someday John I used to dream about seeing a son of mine a priest I dreamed oh I guess I dreamed a thousand times or more even when you were that small John and I was thinking it'd be a great day John sit in there with your father in the front view with the candles lit the incense floating like a white cloud over your head with the altar boys in their red casks the grand organ fill in the church I was thinking that'd be the great day when I could look up and say there is there he is the only father John that's the way you said it mom oh God look over a little house tonight on South 12th Street look over my mother into the dawn it moved cautiously all that day against high seas when night settled down again in the North Atlantic four chaplains were tired so they relaxed around a table they said casual things it's your deal pulling they weren't thinking about the gray waters now I'll pass Washington they were merely looking at cards I'll bid four clubs making small pleasant calculations I guess I'll pass and then hmm let me see I think I'll bid four hearts word stand by forget a bridge game you forget the overturned chair the sweater you left lying on the edge of your bunk you forget the hundred details like the letter you are writing in the shoe you were shining yes you may even forget your life jacket you're just one among hundreds who ran out on a cold deck and you stood there staring out into the dark waiting doesn't look so good Jackson no sir how many did they say they just said submarines must be a pack of them are the gun crews ready yes of the men aligned along the deck waiting waiting that's the part I don't like what that's a waiting it's like being in a dark room you don't know whether you're going to be hidden the head of the ribs bearing is 035 sir looks like the ribs perhaps that could be any angle no wind like this those subs could patrol us for 48 hours and call the shot at any angle what's our position we're out of line sir I thought so what are we making three not sir roughly three knots running out of formation at three knots you know what this means Jackson I'm afraid I do sir the Dorchester is going to be easy pickings and he sub decides to operate tonight so you waited like a man in a dark room you kept staring out over the rail into the dark you couldn't believe that out there under those wild cold waters men were waiting for you timing you measuring you you waited an hour you waited two hours and then gradually relaxed you breathe again you were normal again after all someone could be mistaken could be a false alarm you took one more look over the rail slowly back to the state road watch some of the fellas for a minute walked over your bunk sit down and your fingers so your hair searched for a cigarette found it lit it lay back on your bunk as probably was a false alarm bubbling murderous fish it was coming like a tiger shark it had spotted you here it comes here it comes all right citizens let it be said quietly let it be said without the noise and confusion of men jumping over the side of a stricken ship let it be said without the shouting of boys as they watched the cold sea coming up to meet them in the dark let us say only the Dorchester was gaping with a wound from which he would never heal right now it's getting more quiet the lifeboats are pulling slowly away the Dorchester is settling slowly four chaplains strapped in their life jackets are standing on the deck of that stricken ship are you okay pulling fine Washington how about you Rabbi so far so good and you Fox I'm all right well she's she's going fast all the lifeboats are gone we got most of the fellas over the side wait a minute look at this kid I can't die I can't die take it easy son where's your life jacket I lost it I can't die chaplains lost his life to it look over there three more kids without their life jackets son listen son pay attention to me yes sir can you swim son no sir none of us can swim we're afraid so we're afraid to go over the side I see no life jackets well chaplains yes you're right of course it's the only way I'll take this lad father you and all these boys mine yes sir raise your arms okay no no higher higher you're gonna be all right you've got to be all right my name is Fred thank the quartermaster on board the Dorchester my address is 526 Pennsylvania Avenue Brooklyn New York my name is John Mahoney United States Coast Guard Reserve my name is O'Keeffe merchant seaman we saw it all of us we saw the four chaplains give their own life jackets to men that didn't have any and when our lifeboat drifted away we saw the chaplains kneeling together on the slant and deck they were kneeling like that when the ship went down yes the bed was four hearts it was the complete the ultimate bid a man can make the bid was four human hearts what will be our bid tonight citizens will we be honest with ourselves for one moment this night will we search our individual hearts and come up with a beautiful answer the answer we know is right will we sit at the broad table of this our beloved land and play the game according to the rules of him who is the eternal God and father of all mankind what say you player on the north what say you player on the south what say you players on the east and west well we look tonight into the eyes of our fellow man whoever he may be and bid a portion of old pride or stale prejudice or ancient hate or will we remember that night of February 3rd 1943 when a ship went down 90 miles south of Greenland will we remember that moment when the ship was poised for the final plunge that moment when the miracle of man's love for his fellow man converted her slippery deck once and forever into a great altar from which four men offered their gallant souls to God will we night on words at war we've brought you a portion of captain elwood c nancy's book faith of our fighters the radio dramatization was by father timothy mulvey the four chaplains were james monks chaplain washington carl emory chaplain polling ted jewett chaplain fox and martin blaine was chaplain good our narrator was lamont johnson the music was arranged and played by william meter and the production was under the direction of antan m leader next week words at war will present the radio dramatization of the stalling prize novel the rainbow by vanda vasilepska this series of programs is brought to you in cooperation with the council on books and wartime by the national broadcasting company and the independent radio stations associated with the nbc network