Four Chaplains Brotherhood Award for Gold Star Mom

Duty Calls: Minister earns Four Chaplains Brotherhood Award

Times Union
Terry Brown
February 17, 2019

She is also a Gold Star mother of Army Staff Sgt. Thomas Robbins, who died in action in Iraq on Feb. 9, 2004, attempting to save the lives of his soldiers during a mortar explosion while serving with Troop A, 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment (Stryker) near Mosul, Iraq.

The Rev. Charlene Robbins of Delmar, a Gold Star mother active in veterans circles, has been selected to receive the 54th annual Four Chaplains Brotherhood Award from the Albany Post 105 of Jewish War Veterans.

Robbins will receive the award during a Four Chaplains Award and Remembrance ceremony at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the First Reformed Church, 8 N. Church St., Schenectady.

The Rev. Charlene Robbins of Delmar, a Gold Star mother active in veterans circles, has been selected to receive the 54th annual Four Chaplains Brotherhood Award from the Albany Post 105 of Jewish War Veterans.

Robbins will receive the award during a Four Chaplains Award and Remembrance ceremony at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the First Reformed Church, 8 N. Church St., Schenectady.

The honor commemorates the sacrifice four military chaplains made after a German submarine torpedoed the USS Dorchester, a troop ship, on Feb. 3, 1943, off the coast of Greenland.

One of the four was Army Chaplain 1st Lt. Clark Poling, who ministered at the First Reformed Church just before he enlisted.

The other chaplains were 1st Lt. Alexander Goode, a Jewish rabbi; 1st Lt. George Fox, a Methodist minister; and 1st Lt. John Washington, a Catholic priest.

"Charlene inspires us in her devotion to others, and in particular her focus on serving veteran organizations," said Fred Altman, Post 105 commander. "As a Gold Star mother, Charlene stands among our veterans as a cherished and honored family member. Her sympathy and enthusiasm to give back to the many veteran groups and causes is a shining example of the commitment to others that the Four Chaplains gave their lives for."
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Four Chaplains Awardee supports pot for PTSD

Marine veteran from Schenectady receives Four Chaplains award
Daily Gazette
Andrew Beam
February 25, 2018

'We hope those principles dominate the spirit of how people treat other people'

Longtime Marine Bob Becker of Schenectady listens at a ceremony in which he received the Four Chaplains Brotherhood Award. PHOTOGRAPHER: MARC SCHULTZ

Becker served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a supply chief and platoon sergeant in the Second Marine Division from 1960 until 1966. He then joined the USMC Reserve in 1966 and retired as a first sergeant in 1982. After his retirement, he advocated on behalf of veterans' rights. One of the more recent accomplishments Becker obtained through his advocacy was helping pass the bill in New York state allowing medical marijuana for treatment of those with post-traumatic stress disorder.

SCHENECTADY — After hearing several veterans, elected officials and church members talk about Bob Becker on Sunday, it was Becker’s turn to talk.

Becker, who had just received the Four Chaplains Brotherhood Award, barely spoke about himself. Instead, much like the meaning behind the award he was given on Sunday, he chose to focus on everyone else who got him to that point.

“This award is not for me,” Becker said. “It’s for the committee I work on.”

Becker, of Schenectady, was given the award by the Jewish War Veterans of the United States Albany Post 105 at the First Reformed Church on Sunday.

The award was created in the name of the Four Chaplains. The chaplains were among those who died in February of 1943 on the S.S. Dorchester when the ship was struck by a German torpedo during World War II in the North Atlantic.

The four man group was made up of a Methodist minister, a rabbi, a Catholic priest and a Dutch Reformed minister. They are heralded for putting the rest of those on the boat before themselves, as they helped the other soldiers board lifeboats and gave up their own life jackets when the supply ran out. They then linked arms, prayed and sang hymns as the boat sank into the sea.
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