Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 1–Senators O’Connell, Amodei, Care, Carlton, Cegavske, Coffin, Hardy, Mathews, McGinness, Neal, Nolan, Raggio, Rawson, Rhoads, Schneider, Shaffer, Tiffany, Titus, Townsend, Washington and Wiener

 

February 4, 2003

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Joint Sponsors: Assemblymen Beers, Hettrick, Anderson, Andonov, Angle, Arberry, Atkinson, Brown, Buckley, Carpenter, Chowning, Christensen, Claborn, Collins, Conklin, Geddes, Gibbons, Giunchigliani, Goicoechea, Goldwater, Grady, Griffin, Gustavson, Hardy, Horne, Knecht, Koivisto, Leslie, Mabey, Manendo, Marvel, McClain, McCleary, Mortenson, Oceguera, Ohrenschall, Parks, Perkins, Pierce, Sherer, Weber and Williams

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Read and Adopted

 

SUMMARY—Commemorates induction of Senator William J. Raggio into Chapel of Four Chaplains and inscription of his name on Legion of Honor Wall. (BDR R‑789)

 

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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.

 

Senate Concurrent RESOLUTION—Commemorating the induction of Senator William J. Raggio into the Chapel of Four Chaplains and the inscription of his name on the Legion of Honor Wall.

 

    Whereas, Through the Legion of Honor Award Program, the Chapel of Four Chaplains recognizes and encourages selfless service rendered without regard to race, religion or creed by individuals from all walks of life to their communities, the nation and humanity; and

    Whereas, The inspiration for the Chapel of Four Chaplains and its mission comes from the courageous acts of the four Army chaplains who were serving aboard the U.S.A.T. Dorchester when it was hit by an enemy torpedo and sank in the North Atlantic on February 3, 1943; and

1-1  Whereas, The story of the four chaplains begins on the evening

1-2  of February 2, 1943, when the U.S.A.T. Dorchester, crowded to

1-3  capacity, was moving across the frigid waters from Newfoundland

1-4  toward an American base in Greenland; and

1-5  Whereas, Just after midnight, with the U.S.A.T. Dorchester

1-6  only 150 miles from its destination, an enemy submarine fired a

1-7  torpedo that exploded in the boiler room, destroying the electric

1-8  supply and releasing suffocating clouds of steam and ammonia gas;

1-9  and

1-10      Whereas, Taking on water rapidly, the ship began listing to

1-11  starboard and men clung to the frozen rails, frozen with fear, unable

1-12  to let go and plunge into the dark, churning water far below; and

1-13      Whereas, The testimony of survivors tells us that the sole order

1-14  and only fragment of hope in this chaos came from four chaplains,

1-15  Lieutenant George L. Fox, Methodist, Lieutenant Alexander D.

1-16  Goode, Jewish, Lieutenant John P. Washington, Roman Catholic,

1-17  and Lieutenant Clark V. Poling, Dutch Reformed, who quickly and

1-18  quietly spread out among the men, tending the wounded, calming

1-19  the frightened and guiding the disoriented toward safety; and

1-20      Whereas, One witness found himself floating in oil-smeared

1-21  water, surrounded by dead bodies and debris, and said that he could

1-22  hear men crying, pleading and praying and that the only thing which

1-23  kept him going was the voices of the chaplains, preaching courage,

1-24  offering prayers for the dying and encouragement for those who

1-25  were trying to survive; and

1-26      Whereas, The Arctic air was freezing, leading Rabbi Goode to

1-27  offer what he said was an “extra” pair of gloves to Petty Officer

1-28  John J. Mahoney, who only later realized that the Rabbi had decided

1-29  not to leave the ship and so had offered his only pair of gloves; and

1-30      Whereas, Topside the chaplains were distributing life jackets

1-31  from a storage locker, and when there were none left to distribute, to

1-32  the astonishment of the men, the chaplains removed their lifejackets

1-33  and gave them to four frightened young men; and

1-34      Whereas, Rabbi Goode did not call out for a Jew, Father

1-35  Washington did not call out for a Catholic, nor did the Reverends

1-36  Fox and Poling call out for a Protestant, they simply gave their life

1-37  jackets to the next man in line, showing true altruism and

1-38  spirituality; and

1-39      Whereas, As the ship went down, the survivors in nearby rafts

1-40  could see the four chaplains, arms linked and braced against the

2-1  slanting deck as the ship went down, their voices still offering

2-2  prayers for the salvation of the men they served; and

2-3  Whereas, Through the powers vested in Ed Gobel,

2-4  Southwestern States Regional Director, and his Regional Board of

2-5  Directors, Linda West Myers, Caryl Gobel and Dr. Alan Myers, and

2-6  with the blessing of Reverend Marvin Gant, State Chaplain, on the

2-7  60th Anniversary of these heroic acts, United States Senator Max

2-8  Cleland and Nevada Senator William J. Raggio were honored by

2-9  being inducted into the Chapel of Four Chaplains and having their

2-10  names inscribed in the Legion of Honor Wall in the Chapel at

2-11  Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; now, therefore, be it

2-12      Resolved by the Senate of the State of Nevada, the

2-13  Assembly Concurring, That the Nevada Legislature hereby

2-14  recognizes the spirit of the four chaplains in Senator William J.

2-15  Raggio for having devoted his life to helping others through service

2-16  to his country in the United States Marine Corps, his work on behalf

2-17  of the principles of all religions as evidenced by his recognition by

2-18  the National Conference of Christians and Jews, his work to

2-19  eliminate discrimination as evidenced by the Torch of Liberty

2-20  Award from the Anti-Defamation League and the virtual plethora of

2-21  legislation passed during his 30 years in the Senate; and be it further

2-22      Resolved, That this Legislature heartily commends Senator

2-23  William J. Raggio on the auspicious occasion of his induction into

2-24  the Chapel of the Four Chaplains and congratulates him on

2-25  becoming the fifth Nevadan to be so inducted; and be it further

2-26      Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate prepare and

2-27  transmit a copy of this resolution to Senator William J. Raggio.

 

2-28  H