Clark Vandersall Poling

Clark Vandersall Poling (1910 - 1943) was one of the four chaplains that died in the sinking of the Dorchester during World War II.  Eyewitnesses stated that they helped to organize the evacuation, and they each of the chaplains gave others their own life jackets when the supply ran out.  The four chaplains were reportedly joined in hands, praying and singing hymns together as the ship sank.

Poling was born in Columbus, Ohio on August 7th, 1910. After graduating from Yale Divinity School in 1936, Poling became pastor of the First Reformed Church in Schenectady, New York. At the outbreak of World War II, Poling volunteered for service as an Army chaplain. In late 1922, he was transferred to Taunton, Massachusetts and attended Chaplains School at Harvard University, where he met fellow chaplains George L. Fox, Alexander D. Goode, and John P. Washington.

In January 1943, the chaplains boarded the Dorchester, a ship transporting 902 service men, merchant seamen, and civilian workers to the UK. In February, a German submarine attacked the Dorchester, killing 672 of the men. 

The Four Chaplains were all awarded posthumously  with the Distinguished Service Cross and the Purple Heart. In 1960, Congress unanimously approved the Four Chaplain's Medal to be presented posthumously to the next of kin of each of the four chaplains. Additionally, the Four Chaplains are honored with a Lesser Feast on the liturgical calendar. 

Clark Vandersall Poling was the son of Daniel Poling and Susie Vandersall.  Susie Vandersall was from East Liberty in Green Township (near the intersection of Arlington and Turkeyfoot Lake Roads).  Daniel Poling's mother was Savilla Kring, who spent part of her childhood in Greensburg (intersection of Greensburg and Massillon Roads).  

​For more information about Clark Vandersall Poling,  click here: The Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation - Clark V. Poling.  For more information about the story of the Four Chaplains, click here: The Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation - The Saga of the Four Chaplains.