THE IMMORTALS: The World War Ⅱ Story of Five Fearless Heroes, The Sinking of the Dorchester, and an Awe-inspiring Rescue

摘要

I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN INTERESTED in the story of the Merchants and Miners passenger liner Dorchester, built at Newport News in 1928. She was the second of her class, between Chatham and Fairfax. These were luxurious, 365-ft, 314-passenger, 5,549-ton vessels built for the booming trade between Miami and northern ports. All three were called for war service as Army troop transports in 1941 and 1942. Chatham was torpedoed and sank in Canadian waters in August 1942, and of 569 men aboard only 26 were lost. Fairfax survived the war, but Dorchester was torpedoed near Greenland on February 3, 1943, and 678 men of the 904 aboard were lost. Four Army chaplains prayed with those on board and gave them their own lifejackets in one of the most heroic and famous episodes of the war.