Touching the Ancient One

October 12, 2006

The following story holds great significance for me. If you’ve read Touching the Ancient One, you know about the effort I put onto finding the families of the men who died in the February 5, 1954 crash of our Air Force C-47 in interior Alaska. Although I had success in most instances, there were gaps in my knowledge that were frustrating. We were contacted by family members of James M. Hill after the first reunion when his widow, Dolly Hill, saw the September 23rd People article. Finding David West-Watson shortly before the book went to press, or more accurately, his finding us, was a stroke of luck that made a good ending for the book.

Another family that always seemed just out of reach was that of Sgt. Jacob Siplivy. True, I had talked to a brother and a sister-in-law, but they were unable to give me much information. Then, a few weeks ago, I received a phone call from Peggy Kishlock of Johnstown, PA.

“I’m the daughter of Jacob Siplivy and I have two brothers, Bill and Jim,” she told me. “In addition, our mother is alive and well.”

Needless to say, we had a nice long conversation. Later, we exchanged email and made arrangements to meet for breakfast on September 23rd at Barboursville, West Virginia. Not only did Peggy and her brothers show up with their spouses, but their mother came too.

We already knew that Peggy and Dave Kishlock live in Johnstown, PA. During breakfast we learned that Jim and his wife, Luann, live there as well. Bill and his wife, Laura, live in Stow, Ohio. Both Jim and Bill are graduates of West Virginia University. Bill, who is a Marine Corps veteran, serving from 1966 to 1970, also holds an M.S. in Mining Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh.

An hour and a half over breakfast at CrackerBarrell proved to be a wonderful experience for us all. Information from the Air Force had been lacking in 1954 and, even though I had not known Jacob personally, I was able to add some details about the accident that the Siplivy family appreciated. I believe that just being with one of the last people to see Jacob alive was meaningful to them. They really are a delightful family.

Below is information supplied by the family that I wish was in the book, but since that is impossible in the present edition, I’m putting it on this website, both as a journal entry and in Links of Interest which people can readily access. Jacob Siplivy’s photograph is in the C-47 Crash Victims folder in the Gallery Pictures link.
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T/Sgt Jacob “Jay” Siplivy, son of John and Anna Siplivy, was born in Somerset County, PA on November 24, 1919.  He joined the Army Air Force in 1942  and would go on to fly fifty bombing missions from Italy into Germany during WWII.   Later, in 1946, while stationed in Erding, Germany, Jacob  met and married Erna Stahleder of Vilsbiburg, Germany.  After Jacob was discharged, the couple came to the United States with their oldest son, William. Jacob worked in the coal mines for a time, but dissatisfied with that, reenlisted back into the Air Force. Peggy was born at Scott AFB in Illinois and Jim was born at Shaw AFB in South Carolina. Other duty stations were Scott Pope AFB in North Carolina and Olmstead AFB in Middletown, PA. After being assigned to Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, but before leaving for that frontier assignment, he moved his wife and children  to Johnstown, PA until he could make other arrangements. Sadly, on February 5, 1954, he was aboard the ill-fated C-47. Erna raised her three children, with moral support from friends and family before marrying Paul Kaminski of Johnstown sixteen years after Jacob’s death.

Erna, still beautiful and vibrant, feels that, "Jay and I were blessed with three wonderful children." She shows great pride in what they have done with their lives. But she also cherishes her memories. She has a suitcase in her attic with Jacob’s medals, Air Force wings, letters, and wallet, along with many pictures. There are also newspaper clippings and telegrams about the accident.  An additional treasure in the suitcase is a faded post card with Jacob’s last writing to his wife and children.

My thanks to the Siplivy family for sharing this information about another of our military heros. It reminds me of the men and women we met in Tom Brokow’s The Greatest Generation.
Rupert