Jim McClure, Sandra Lee Kearse-Stockton honored at Four Chaplains breakfast

York Daily Record
·2 min read

The 31st annual Four Chaplains Prayer Breakfast honored retired York Daily Record Editor Jim McClure and Sandra Lee Kearse-Stockton with the Legion of Honor Award May 10 at the Wyndham Garden in West Manchester Township.

The award honors community members who embody the spirit of the Four Chaplains, who selflessly gave their life jackets to soldiers on the U.S.A.T. Dorchester on Feb. 3, 1943, after it was torpedoed by a German submarine. One of the Four Chaplains was Rabbi Alexander D. Goode, who left his pulpit at Temple Beth Israel in York to enlist in the military.

Sandra Lee Kearse-Stockton receives the Four Chaplains Legion of Honor award from Lou Lavetan May 10, 2023.
Sandra Lee Kearse-Stockton receives the Four Chaplains Legion of Honor award from Lou Lavetan May 10, 2023.

Kearse-Stockton is an author and 30-year veteran, retiring as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army. She has written two volumes in a series of books about growing up in York, “480 Codorus Street,” and is working on a third volume. She and her husband have fostered more than 100 children in the Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia areas.

Accepting her award, she saluted other women who have served in the military.

More: York County’s Four Chaplains Memorial keeps story of World War II heroism alive

Jim McClure, right, receives the Four Chaplains Legion of Honor award from Lou Lavetan May 10, 2023.
Jim McClure, right, receives the Four Chaplains Legion of Honor award from Lou Lavetan May 10, 2023.

McClure was the longtime editor of the York Daily Record – as well as a regional editor for the USA Today Network and Digital First Media. He is the author or co-author of nine books on regional history, founded the popular Retro York Facebook group and works on WitnessingYork.com and Hometown History. He also serves in many volunteer capacities in York County and writes a popular local history column weekly for the York Sunday News.

In his acceptance speech, McClure deflected focus on himself and talked about the contributions of fellow Legion of Honor Award honoree Kearse-Stockton, about whom he has written several times in his column.

Also honored this year by the Four Chaplains committee was William "Chino" Rivera, who was hailed as a hero by York City Police after he rescued a 4-year-old girl and others from a burning Apartment building on Queen Street April 29, 2023. Rivera was honored with the Charles W. David Jr. Lifesaving Award. David is credited with saving many as the Dorchester was sinking.

William "Chino" Rivera was honored by the Four Chaplains committee with the Charles W. David Jr. Lifesaving Award for rescuing a 4-year-old girl and others from a burning apartment building on Queen Street April 29, 2023.
William "Chino" Rivera was honored by the Four Chaplains committee with the Charles W. David Jr. Lifesaving Award for rescuing a 4-year-old girl and others from a burning apartment building on Queen Street April 29, 2023.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: McClure, Kearse-Stockton honored at 4 Chaplains breakfast