George Fox, 'Immortal Chaplain,' receives memorial marker at Arlington

Of everything he ever did, Army Chaplain (1st Lt.) George Fox is most remembered for his final act: removing his life vest and handing it to a frightened soldier as their transport sank into the icy North Atlantic on Feb. 3, 1943.

One of four Army chaplains – a Methodist minister, a Reformed pastor, a Catholic priest and a rabbi – who gave their lives that night to save others, Fox is revered as a model of faith, courage and sacrificial love.

“When we were small, my grandfather was a larger-than-life figure to us, and someone we should all aspire to be like, to walk in his shoes to the best of our ability,” said Lisa Murray Hirbour, the youngest of Fox’s nine grandchildren. “I think all of us do carry that with us now.”

On Sept. 4, the chaplain’s family joined Army officials in reflecting on his legacy during a special service at Arlington National Cemetery, where Fox received full military honors following the installation of a memorial headstone last spring.

Maj. Gen. William “Bill” Green Jr., the Army’s chief of chaplains, recounted Fox’s exceptional military career, which began as a stretcher bearer in World War I. He joined the service at 17 “not with a romanticized notion of heroism, but rather with a simple burden to care for others above himself,” Green said. “Ultimately, this was his selfless service to others that set him apart.”

On the Western Front, Fox braved gunfire, artillery barrages and mustard gas to bring wounded men to safety, earning the Silver Star and the Purple Heart.

After the war, he had the opportunity to pursue a career in finance but chose instead to become an itinerant Methodist preacher. He and his wife, Isadore, served communities in Illinois, New Hampshire and Vermont while he studied theology, and in 1934 he was ordained.  

“They lived on basically nothing,” Hirbour said. “The kids went to bed hungry a lot, but that didn’t dissuade him from his calling.”

When the United States entered World War II, Fox volunteered to serve as an Army chaplain. He went on active duty the same day his son, Wyatt, joined the Marine Corps. 

“He was already a decorated soldier, with a family to care for and a parish to pastor,” Green said. “And yet knowing better than most the horrific toll that wars exact on human souls, he made a decision to return to the battlefield, not for glory, but to share Christ’s presence with others in the midst of what he knew would be humanity’s most trying and sometimes darkest moments.”

What happened next is a story told and retold. USAT Dorchester, packed with 902 military and civilian personnel, en route to Greenland. The constant threat of a U-boat attack. A sudden explosion, followed by chaos, confusion and fear. And in the middle of it, Fox – with fellow chaplains Father John Washington, Rabbi Alexander Goode and the Rev. Clark Poling – urging calm and comforting those unable to escape. They were last seen with arms linked, braced against the slanting deck, praying and singing hymns. 

Over the next two decades, the Four Chaplains – also called the “Immortal Chaplains” – were memorialized nationwide in chapels and sanctuaries, sculptures and stained glass, paintings and plaques. A viaduct in Ohio was named for them, and a swimming pool at a veterans hospital in the Bronx. In 1960, they were posthumously awarded the Four Chaplains’ Medal, which has the same weight and importance as the Medal of Honor.

Only recently, though, has there been a push to count the chaplains among the fallen at America’s most sacred burial ground.

Bill Kaemmer, director of the Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation, said his goal is for each to have a memorial marker at Arlington by the end of 2025, the 250th anniversary of the Army’s Chaplain Corps. 

In 2021, Kaemmer joined Arlington’s staff as a cemetery administrative specialist. Curious to know how Fox, Washington, Poling and Goode were represented at Arlington beyond plaques to their respective faiths on Chaplains Hill, he learned that only Goode had a headstone in the memorial section, installed in 1998.

“Once I realized that was an option, I thought it would be right to move forward,” he said. “If I accomplish nothing else in my time as director, helping get all four into Arlington would be a big deal. I think it’s nice closure for the families.”

The request for a memorial marker must be made by the oldest next of kin. Already in touch with Fox’s family, Kaemmer volunteered his help if they wanted to start the process. 

“At the time, my mother (Mary Fox Murray, Fox’s daughter) was still alive,” Hirbour said. “We lost her last year. But I still thought, ‘They’re all going to smile down on us if we can get this done.”

Lost and damaged military records added a wrinkle, but with the guidance of an Army casualty assistance officer, Hirbour gathered and submitted the required documentation. Within months, a marker was approved and a date set for a long-overdue memorial service.

According to Kaemmer, Fox’s headstone stands about 10 yards from Goode’s. “If the other two come within a year, they might actually be next to Chaplain Fox’s,” he said.

Members of the 3rd Infantry Regiment – the Old Guard – conducted Fox’s funeral honors as they would a traditional burial. A casket team folded a U.S. flag and presented it to Hirbour, followed by the firing of a three-volley salute and the playing of taps.

“Today we honor Chaplain Fox’s memory and example, as our Army has done for over 80 years,” Green said. “And we pray that the members of our Chaplain Corps, both present and future, may always be found as faithful to their sense of calling as Chaplain George Fox was to his.”

After his remarks, Green gave Hirbour an Army challenge coin bearing the image of the Four Chaplains. “We remember them every day,” he assured her.

Six of Fox’s grandchildren were present, along with other family and friends. 

“All of us were gratified to know his legacy is alive and well in the military and in the country, because we think this country needs heroes now more than ever,” Hirbour said. “What they did was truly brave and should be recognized, although my grandfather himself would wonder what all the fuss was about.”

American Legion National Commander Jim LaCoursiere attended the service with American Legion Auxiliary President Trish Ward and Sons of The American Legion National Commander Joseph Navarrete.

“The memorial service for the Rev. George Fox was touching and special, as The American Legion has never forgotten the heroism of the Four Chaplains,” LaCoursiere said. “Without thought or hesitation, they gave away everything – life vests, gloves, jackets – to save others. Their actions demonstrate loyalty, unity and valor, and are a symbol for veterans and their families. Their memories live on through the American Legion Family.”

In 2024, 1,764 American Legion posts conducted or participated in Four Chaplains Day ceremonies.

Fox himself was an active member of The American Legion. His last assignment was pastoring a church in the mill town of Gilman, Vt., where he joined Walter G. Moore Post 41. He served as historian and chaplain for the American Legion Department of Vermont, and was in charge of the wreath-laying at the state’s 1939 Armistice Day ceremony.

His wife, the Rev. Isadore Fox, was the first ordained minister to serve as the American Legion Auxiliary’s national chaplain (1970-1971). She also served as a unit president. In the February 1971 issue of the Auxiliary’s National News magazine, the other Rev. Fox wrote of the Four Chaplains story, “It has become the symbol of brotherhood throughout our great land. It is a call to love in a sacrificial way for the benefit of mankind to the end that they may have a better world in which to live.”

In 2023, as the Fox family looked into the possibility of a memorial marker, a huge effort was underway to save the chaplain’s former church in Gilman. After over a decade of it sitting vacant, Methodist trustees put the building up for sale, and local American Legion members led a fundraising campaign to buy it. Contributions poured in from the community, the Chapel of Four Chaplains, members of the Fox family, American Legion posts and departments, Auxiliary units, SAL squadrons, various veterans service organizations and individual donors across the country. A large donation from the late Mary Fox Murray secured the purchase.

“The American Legion was incredibly important to both of my grandparents,” Hirbour said. “We are forever indebted to them.”

The Rev. George L. Fox Memorial Chapel is both a nondenominational house of worship and a museum. “I’ve got all the artifacts that my grandmother held for 40 years, and then my mother held for another 40 years,” Hirbour said. “I want them to be properly displayed so people can come and see what Vermont treasures they were.”

The plan is for the chapel to eventually host chaplain training and retreats, too.

Most of all, Hirbour wants to fulfill her grandmother’s dream – “a chapel in memory of my grandfather, where people can come and reflect and pray in whatever fashion they want. A place where everyone is welcome and everyone is worthy, because that was their ministry. They didn’t exclude anyone. We want to carry on the legacy of our grandparents and what they stood for in this life.

“We want to be there for everyone.”