DOB/DOD: May 10, 1911 (Brooklyn, NY) – February 3, 1943; 31 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Married Theresa Flax (1911-2004) on October 7, 1935, in Washington, DC. She was the niece of singer, comedian, and actor Al Jolson (1886-1950). Her mother’s sister, Rose Yoelson [Jolson], was Al Jolson’s sister. Theresa remarried after Lieutenant Goode’s death to Rabbi Harry Kaplan (1901-1969).
CHILDREN: One daughter, Rosalie Bea Goode Fried (1939-1999)
SCHOOLS: University of Cincinnati College of Arts & Sciences, Class of 1934. Attended Hebrew Union College (HUC), where he graduated with a B.H. degree in 1937. Ordained in 1937. He later received his PhD in Middle Eastern languages from Johns Hopkins University in 1940. “He excelled in ecumenicalism,” Rabbi Elkins said. “He had a wonderful reputation as a scholar, a beloved rabbi, and an ecumenical person. … He was an extraordinary person, [in addition to] what he did on the Dorchester.” [from jmoreliving.com]
ORDAINED: Ordained as a rabbi at Hebrew Union College in 1937.
TEMPLES SERVED: Marion, Indiana (1936-37) and York, Pennsylvania (1937-42)
NOTE: In 1941, Goode founded Boy Scout Troop 37 in York as a multi-cultural, mixed-race troop, the first troop in the United States to have scouts earn Catholic, Jewish, and Protestant awards.
ENLISTMENT: Served in the Washington National Guard, Company E, 121st Engineers in 1929. In January 1941, he applied as a chaplain with the U.S. Navy but was not accepted at that time. Right after Pearl Harbor, he tried again, this time with the Army, and received an appointment on July 21, 1942. Chaplain Goode went on active duty on August 9, 1942, and was selected for the Chaplains School at Harvard. Chaplain Goode was then assigned to the 333rd Airbase Squadron in Goldsboro, North Carolina. In October 1942, he was transferred to Camp Myles Standish in Taunton, Massachusetts, and Alex was reunited with Chaplains Fox, Poling, and Washington, who were classmates at Harvard.
SERVICE NUMBER: O-485093
UNIT: 333rd Airbase Squadron
FAMILY: Born to Rabbi Hyman S. Goodkowitz (1889-) and Fannie Aronin Goodkowitz (1895-). Two brothers, Joseph S. (1912-1976) and Moses (1914-1989). One sister, Agatha “Birdie” Goodkowitz Pinksy (1915-1987).
Graduated from Eastern High School in Washington, DC, Class of 1929
Photos pending
Namesake of Alexander D. Goode Elementary School, York, Pennsylvania. Photo by Jeff DeWitt.
Memorial headstone in Arlington National Cemetery, 1 Memorial Avenue, Arlington, Virginia; Section MF, Grave 40-2. Photo from ancexplorer.army.mil
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