You know that strange question that people often ask from time to time… “If you could have dinner with x-amount of people either living or deceased, who would you pick and why?”
I’ve often thought that question was incredibly weird.
But, I suppose if I had to answer that, one person that I would certainly invite to the table is Father Washington. Father Washington was one of the infamous Four Chaplains that gave up his life vest to save soldiers while his ship was sinking in WWII. I’m not an expert at our family tree, but I believe he was my Grandpa’s cousin. I really need to get my Grandmother to join Ancestry.com so she can map it all out a bit clearer for the future Washington generations. 🙂
I’ve done a bit of Googling to find out more about Father Washington over the years because I cannot help but to feel immense pride in someone that I never met but have the same blood running through my veins. I found a video series on YouTube where some of the survivors talk about the different Chaplains and their instant friendship with one another. Aside from saving people, he also felt inclined to boost morale on the ship and helped to organize talent night–where apparently he and the rest of the Chaplains were fantastic singers. I thought that was pretty cool since I enjoy music greatly.
Additionally, I thought it was fun to listen to a joke one of the soldiers shared where he asked Father Washington to bless his card playing hand and Father Washington asked him why he wanted him to waste a blessing on playing cards. He seemed like a really awesome individual.
Needless to say, as tragic as the story is about the end of Father Washington’s life, it is a story that I enjoy sharing because of how selfless he was. I hope over the years, more information surfaces so I can continue the quest of acquitting myself with this heroic family member.