CALEDONIA — Each Remembrance Day, we’re asked to pause and think about those who gave their lives for their country – both those who never came home, and those who did but were forever changed by their experiences.
But even in doing so, the statistics can be so staggering that they’re nearly incomprehensible. Instead, sometimes it can be beneficial to explore one person’s story to get some perspective as to the realities of war.
For Bob Spisak, the story he’s been digging into the most through the years has been that of his father, Joseph Spisak Jr.
Joseph was born in Czechoslovakia, but immigrated to Canada in 1930 and settled in Caledonia with his mother and sisters. Just over a decade later, with the rise of the Second World War, he enlisted in Hamilton. After being transferred to Georgia, Joseph became a paratrooper in 1943 and had more training in Manitoba before being sent to England.
“Training had to be done at Fort Benning, Georgia until the training layout was completed at Shilo, Manitoba,” Spisak said. “My father got his wings and boots in Fort Benning, Georgia, but wore the Canadian 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion wings.”
Spisak said growing up, his dad would tell him and his siblings about the earlier parts of his life. However, when it came to his wartime experiences in Europe, “he just kept it to himself,” Spisak previously told The Press.
After Joseph’s death in 2002, Spisak began to research his dad’s wartime experiences, and eventually learned that his dad was part of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, and had landed in France on D-Day – June 6, 1944 – a little after 1 a.m.
D-Day was the battle where Allied troops landed on five beachheads in Normandy, and ultimately proved to be a major turning point in the war.
Spisak is still trying to fill in all of the blanks of what happened next for his dad. He knows his dad ended up in Le Mesnil, where he was ultimately wounded. Some information Spisak has collected from that time seems to indicate that when his dad landed, it was in water that went above his head. But there are still plenty of unanswered questions.
“I am waiting to get the daily diary of my father from June 6,1944 to July 2,1944, and maybe even after July 2,1944,” Spisak said. “I have connections in Europe, Quebec, and Ontario to fill in the blank spots of what my father went through in his 27 days in action.”
All of the information is being compiled into a book; Spisak said the working title is ‘Joseph Spisak Jr. 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion Headquarters Company – Vickers Platoon.’
While it’s not available to the public now, “I would like to publish a full story when I indeed have a full history of him in action.”
