Army Chaplain. Born in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Irish immigrants Mary and Frank Washington, he attended Seton Hall and graduated in 1931 with an A.B. Degree. He then enrolled in Immaculate Conception Seminary where he excelled. He was ordained a priest on June 15, 1935. He was assigned his first parish, St. Genevieve's in Elizabeth, New Jersey, followed by service at Saint Stephen's in Arlington, New Jersey. After Pearl Harbor, he volunteered as an Army Chaplain. On May 9, 1942, he was named Chief of the Chaplain Reserve Pool at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indiana. In June, he was assigned to the 76th Infantry Division, and, in November 1942, attended the chaplain training course at Harvard where he first met his classmates, Jewish Chaplain, Alexander Goode; Dutch Reformed Chaplain, Clark Poling; and Methodist Chaplain, George Fox. In January 1943, he was reunited with his classmates as the four chaplains embarked on the converted ocean liner USAT Dorchester, which was transporting 902 soldiers to Britain via Greenland as part of Convoy SG-19. On February 2, 1943, a German U-boat fired on the convoy; a torpedo struck the Dorchester some time after midnight. The Dorchester lost all power, and, in the cold and dark, men scrambled for the lifeboats. The four chaplains calmly organized the men as best they could, handing out life jackets from storage, encouraging the men with prayers, and tending wounded as best as possible. When it became apparent that there were not enough life jackets, each of the chaplains took off his own life jacket and gave each to a young soldier. When the last of the undamaged lifeboats were away, the chaplains prayed with those left behind on the sinking ship. Less than thirty minutes after being hit, the Dorchester sank with the loss of 672 men, including the Four Chaplains. The survival of as many as 230 men was directly credited to the Chaplains' actions. On December 19, 1944, each of the Chaplains was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart and a Distinguished Service Cross. A U.S. postage stamp was issued in 1948 commemorating the Four Chaplains. A stained glass window in memory of the four chaplains was installed in the A-ring of the Pentagon on the third floor. On July 14, 1960, Congress created the Four Chaplains Medal which was presented to each of the Chaplains' next of kin by the Secretary of the Army. For their courage and self-sacrifice, by Act of Congress, February 3 is designated "Four Chaplains Day."