Photographic memory: Former Navy chaplains reunite, reminisce over WWII-era photo
Former Navy chaplains reunite, reminisce over WWII-era photo
Father Carl Spishak (left) and Father Dave Becker hold their photo decades later inside Garvey Manor Nursing Home. Mirror photo by Colette Costlow
In the enlarged, colorized photo, former Navy chaplains Father Carl Spishak and Father Dave Becker sit together on a set of stairs in what appears to be a garden in Okinawa, Japan, as the two men served in the Navy following WWII. Courtesy photo
Recreating the beloved photograph decades later, Father Carl Spishak (left) and Father Dave Becker sit in Garvey Manor Nursing Home’s on-site chapel. Mirror photo by Colette Costlow
Father Dave Becker (right) talks to Father Carl Spishak about their memories of serving in the Navy following WWII. Mirror photo by Colette Costlow
Recreating the beloved photograph decades later, Father Carl Spishak (left) and Father Dave Becker sit in front of Garvey Manor Nursing Home’s Veterans Day table. Mirror photo by Colette Costlow
Father Carl Spishak (left) and Father Dave Becker hold their photo decades later inside Garvey Manor Nursing Home. Mirror photo by Colette Costlow
In the enlarged, colorized photo, former Navy chaplains Father Carl Spishak and Father Dave Becker sit together on a set of stairs in what appears to be a garden in Okinawa, Japan, as the two men served in the Navy following WWII. Courtesy photo
Recreating the beloved photograph decades later, Father Carl Spishak (left) and Father Dave Becker sit in Garvey Manor Nursing Home’s on-site chapel. Mirror photo by Colette Costlow
Father Dave Becker (right) talks to Father Carl Spishak about their memories of serving in the Navy following WWII. Mirror photo by Colette Costlow
Recreating the beloved photograph decades later, Father Carl Spishak (left) and Father Dave Becker sit in front of Garvey Manor Nursing Home’s Veterans Day table. Mirror photo by Colette Costlow
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HOLLIDAYSBURG -- A picture is worth a thousand words. And a thousand memories, if you ask former Navy chaplains Father Carl Spishak and Father Dave Becker.
As Navy chaplains following World War II, Spishak and Becker posed for a photo in Okinawa, Japan. Spishak kept that black-and-white, wallet-sized photo for decades and recently moved into Garvey Manor Nursing Home with it tucked away in his bags. Little did he know that Becker was already a resident at the Catholic nursing home.
Now with a new enlarged, colorized photo, Spishak, 93, and Becker, 88, have bonded over it in the halls and the chapel, recalling memories made in a foreign country years ago.
The photo helps jog their memories, director of activities Barb Hileman said, and listeners can tell that they're proud of their service.
"They started as two young men serving their country and to be together at the end again, it's just full circle," she said.
Navy chaplains
The chaplain duo grew up on opposite sides of the region: Spishak was from Johnstown, while Becker was from Altoona.
As priests for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, they first met while working at Bishop Carroll High School. Spishak taught Spanish, and Becker taught art. Spishak eventually left his job to become a Navy chaplain to switch up his career. He was inspired to join the Navy as his father served in World War I and his two brothers served in the Army.
"I want to do something different, but I still want to be a priest," he said. "How can I still do this and still look good?"
Spishak's first assignment was in Okinawa. He stayed on base for about six months before Becker arrived, as Becker also left Bishop Carroll to become a Navy chaplain.
They met again by chance on the day the photo was taken, Spishak said. The photo shows the two Navy chaplains -- dressed in Marine Corps uniforms -- sitting together on a set of stairs in what appears to be a garden.
"We were sitting on conquered territory," Becker said.
While neither Spishak nor Becker could recall specific dates or facts surrounding the photo, it helped them recall a few shared memories in Japan, such as going for drinks at a hotel on top of the hill.
Spishak said he stayed at Camp Foster, while Becker stayed at another camp within driving distance.
"I remember I'd come and pick you up from time to time so we could get up to the hotel on top of the hill," Spishak said to Becker.
However, Becker's most vivid memory in Okinawa was when the chaplains didn't have palms for a Palm Sunday Mass. Complaining about the lack of palms, he said someone instructed him to jump in a Jeep and get them himself.
"I was used to getting them in the mail, but there was no such luck," he said with a laugh.
Spishak went stateside about six months later and eventually returned to Altoona, where he spent most of his time as a priest at St. Rose of Lima Parish. Meanwhile, Becker served in the Navy from 1976 to 1981 and served as a priest at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Shade Gap, Huntingdon County.
It wouldn't be until Spishak found the black-and-white photo in his belongings decades later that the two Navy chaplains would be brought together once again.
Renewing a friendship
Hileman said Spishak told her about the photo a few months ago. It was gone when she went to his room to check out the photograph for herself.
"You said, 'A man took it. He went to get it blown up and colored for me,'" Hileman said to Spishak.
The man in question was Garvey Manor volunteer Ron Skupien, who remembered when Spishak served as assistant priest at St. Rose of Lima Parish. Skupien said Spishak showed him the original photo, and Skupien said he could have it enlarged and colorized.
Taking the photo to The Film Center at 3415 Pleasant Valley Blvd., Skupien got two enlarged and colorized images back a month later, and he had them both framed for Spishak and Becker.
"He (Spishak) was proud of his military service, and he was really happy when I gave that back to him," Skupien said.
Both former Navy chaplains now have a framed copy of the photo in their rooms, which continues to resurface memories and emotions about serving their country.
"I'm serving my country in a foreign land," he said. "I'm proud of who I was then. It was a peak moment of my life."
Sitting beside the same person in a nursing home years later, Spishak said the image touches his heart.
"We get a chance to renew a friendship every morning," he said, noting that they attend church each morning in the on-site chapel.
This photo was taken a very long time ago, Hileman said, so, understandably, Spishak and Becker have a hard time recalling specific details of their time in Okinawa, but help each other remember specific moments or feelings from the Navy.
"Life goes so fast, and you try to remember all those special things in your life," she said.
Mirror Staff Writer Colette Costlow is at 814-946-7414.