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

 

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

 

FILE NUMBER..........

 

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

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

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

 capacity, was moving across the frigid waters from Newfoundland

 toward an American base in Greenland; and

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

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

 torpedo that exploded in the boiler room, destroying the electric

 supply and releasing suffocating clouds of steam and ammonia gas;

 and

    Whereas, Taking on water rapidly, the ship began listing to

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

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

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

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

 Lieutenant George L. Fox, Methodist, Lieutenant Alexander D.

 Goode, Jewish, Lieutenant John P. Washington, Roman Catholic,

and Lieutenant Clark V. Poling, Dutch Reformed, who quickly and

quietly spread out among the men, tending the wounded, calming

 the frightened and guiding the disoriented toward safety; and

    Whereas, One witness found himself floating in oil-smeared

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

 hear men crying, pleading and praying and that the only thing

 which kept him going was the voices of the chaplains, preaching

 courage, offering prayers for the dying and encouragement for

 those who were trying to survive; and

    Whereas, The Arctic air was freezing, leading Rabbi Goode to

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

 John J. Mahoney, who only later realized that the Rabbi had

 decided not to leave the ship and so had offered his only pair of

 gloves; and

    Whereas, Topside the chaplains were distributing life jackets

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

 to the astonishment of the men, the chaplains removed their

 lifejackets and gave them to four frightened young men; and

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

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

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

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

 spirituality; and

    Whereas, As the ship went down, the survivors in nearby rafts

 could see the four chaplains, arms linked and braced against the

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

 prayers for the salvation of the men they served; and

    Whereas, Through the powers vested in Ed Gobel,

 Southwestern States Regional Director, and his Regional Board of

 Directors, Linda West Myers, Caryl Gobel and Dr. Alan Myers, and

 with the blessing of Reverend Marvin Gant, State Chaplain, on the

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

 Cleland and Nevada Senator William J. Raggio were honored by

 being inducted into the Chapel of Four Chaplains and having their

 names inscribed in the Legion of Honor Wall in the Chapel at

 Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; now, therefore, be it

    Resolved by the Senate of the State of Nevada, the

 Assembly Concurring, That the Nevada Legislature hereby

 recognizes the spirit of the four chaplains in Senator William J.

 Raggio for having devoted his life to helping others through service

 to his country in the United States Marine Corps, his work on

 behalf of the principles of all religions as evidenced by his

 recognition by the National Conference of Christians and Jews, his

 work to eliminate discrimination as evidenced by the Torch of

 Liberty Award from the Anti-Defamation League and the virtual

 plethora of legislation passed during his 30 years in the Senate; and

 be it further

    Resolved, That this Legislature heartily commends Senator

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

 the Chapel of the Four Chaplains and congratulates him on

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

    Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate prepare and

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

 

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