George Fox was born on March 15, 1900, in Lewistown, Pennsylvania. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1917, and served as a medic on the Western Front during World War I. After the war, he was discharged and later became a Methodist minister. When World War II began, Fox joined the U.S. Army as a Chaplain. He attended Chaplain's School at Harvard University in 1942, and was traveling to Europe aboard the U.S. Army Transport Ship Dorchester when it was sunk by a German submarine on February 3, 1943. Fox and three other Army Chaplains died in the sinking and were later posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. In 1961, President Kennedy awarded the Four Chaplains' Medal to the families of each of the four Chaplains lost in the sinking.

The Synopsis from the General Orders for his Distinguished Service Cross reads:

The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to George L. Fox (0-485690), First Lieutenant (Chaplain), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy in action against enemy forces on 3 February 1943. Chaplain Fox was one of four Army Chaplains aboard the U.S.A.T. Dorchester which was torpedoed in the North Atlantic. He and his comrades bravely brought order to panicked soldiers as the ship was sinking and, when no more life jackets were available, he gave up his own life jacket to another man. Chaplain Fox's intrepid actions, personal bravery and zealous devotion to duty at the cost of his life, exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.