By Diane Prokop
Times Staff Writer
Carl Vozniak was what he called a snot-nosed kid of 17 when he first set foot aboard a submarine.
The 85-year-old Mayfair resident enlisted in the Navy in 1942, participated in four successful war patrols and earned three gold stars on his combat pin.
He was featured on the front page of the Times two weeks ago holding a photo of rescued airmen on board the USS Finback, which was on lifeguard submarine duty. Vozniak was an electrician on board the sub that rescued a 20-year-old pilot who would one day become president of the United States — George H. W. Bush.
Vozniak also served on board the USS Parche, one of the most highly decorated World War II submarines. His World War II reminiscences were the first to be recorded as part of the World War II Journals project.
Sponsored by the Major Artery Revitalization Committee, the documentary will preserve the stories of countless Northeast Philadelphia veterans and their families.
At the request of his mother, Vozniak retired from the Navy in 1947 after the death of his brother Nicholas, who was killed in action in New Guinea.
These days, however, the retired steamfitter still hears the call of the sea and spends three days a week on board another World War II era submarine — the USS Becuna.
Docked at Penn’s Landing at Spruce Street, the Becuna — which saw five war patrols in the Philippines, the South China and Java seas with U.S. Seventh Fleet and sunk two Japanese tankers during World War II — is an example of the standard fleet-type Balao class submarine.
According to its Web site, "Becuna’s Cold War missions often found her in the Atlantic, trailing Soviet submarines with eavesdropping equipment aboard. She served in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic during the Korean and Vietnam Wars and ended her long and distinguished career as a training submarine in Connecticut."
Decommissioned in 1969, the Becuna submarine has been part of Independence Seaport Museum’s Historic Ship Zone since 1996. Becuna is a National Historic Landmark and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Vozniak can lead you on a tour of the sub on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. In addition to being a knowledgeable tour guide, Vozniak has been instrumental in the Becuna’s upkeep.
"Tony Finocchio, Bob Palmer and I brought this sub back to life," he said.
The folks at the Independence Seaport Museum nominated Vozniak and Finocchio for the Historic Naval Ships Association’s 2003 Bos’n Marvin Curry Award.
According to the nomination letter, the pair repaired more than 100 indicator lights and instrument panels throughout the submarine, restored the original public address system, and bought the dive and collision alarms to working order, as well as restored the Control Room’s red "battle lanterns." They were used during nighttime operations to maintain the crew’s night vision.
Vozniak’s latest project is to get the Becuna in dry dock to repair a leak in a ballast tank that’s causing the vessel to list about 6-1/2-degrees to port (left side). Volunteers have been able to put a Band-Aid fix on the problem, but Vozniak estimates $800,000 is needed. To date, the fund has raised $6,000.
Hoping that former President Bush might return the favor from all those years ago, Vozniak wrote him a letter last week, asking for his assistance. He doesn’t have his hopes up.
Other requests Vozniak made in hopes of assisting World War II submarine vets to receive bronze stars for their service have gone unanswered, Vozniak said. He’s a member of the Delaware Valley Chapter of Submarine Vets World War II since 1955. ••
The Independence Seaport Museum has set up a Becuna dry dock fund account. Donations can be sent to the Becuna Dry Dock Fund, c/o Independence Seaport Museum, 211 South Columbus Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19106-3199.
Reporter Diane Prokop can be reached at 215-354-3036 or dprokop@phillynews.com
All aboard!
To learn more about the USS Becuna, visit www.phillyseaport.org/ships_becuna.shtml
Independence Seaport Museum is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Ticket prices include admission to Independence Seaport Museum’s galleries and Workshop on the Water, a wooden boatbuilding workshop inside the Museum, plus the Spanish-American War cruiser USS Olympia and the World War II submarine USS Becuna.
Tickets are $9 for adults, $6 for children (ages 3 to 12), $8 for seniors (age 65 and older) and students with valid school ID. Admission is free from 10 a.m. to noon every Sunday (not applicable to groups).