Brotherhood Week

1943 Brotherhood Week Poster

This week is National Brotherhood Week. First celebrated in February 1934, National Brotherhood Week was the idea of the non-profit National Conference for Christians and Jews, a name that was changed later to the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ). The goals of the NCCJ were and are to fight bigotry, racism and injustice. Brotherhood Week was celebrated in the third week of February from 1934 throughout the 1980s.

Post by Curator Kimberly Guise.

Special Event – “Brotherhood and Sacrifice at Sea: The True Story of the Immortal Four Chaplains of WWII”

A Presentation by Judge Barry Sax, followed by a conversation with veteran Richard “Dick” Swanson
Thursday, February 28, 2013, 5:00 pm Reception, 6:00 pm Presentation

On February 3, 1943, a US Army transport, the Dorchester, was making its way in a convoy from the United States to an Army Command Base in southern Greenland. She was carrying over 900 men, but the Dorchester never arrived at its destination.

She was struck by a torpedo fired from a German U-boat, and the transport sank within 20 minutes.

On board the Dorchester were four chaplains who are now “immortal” for the selfless actions and sacrifices they made in the cold North Atlantic waters.

Join us on Thursday, February 28th to hear this harrowing, yet heroic, story from Judge Barry Sax, a retired Department of Defense Administrative Judge, historian and member of the Board of Directors of the Chapel of the Four Chaplains at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.

Following Judge Sax’s presentation will be a unique opportunity to hear from Richard “Dick” Swanson, who was aboard the USS Comanche, one of the Coast Guard Cutters that was a part of the Dorchester’s convoy. The Comanche rescued nearly 100 of the survivors and Swanson himself was later awarded the US Navy and Marine Corps Medal for Heroism during the rescue operations.

The event is free and open to the public, but registration is strongly encouraged.

Register for this event.