Coeur d'Alene artist was 3 when nine uncles safely came home from WWII

"Uncle" was a strange concept to Greg Chapleski when he was a little boy. 

As a 3-year-old in 1945, he only really knew aunts and cousins. His uncles were stationed around the globe, fighting in World War II. 

A perforated eardrum prevented his father from enlisting. 

“He was around, but his brother wasn’t around, his sisters’ husbands weren’t around,'" Chapleski said Dec. 16, seated in a cozy chair in his Coeur d'Alene home. "All I heard was 'uncles.' I thought that was a funny word. I couldn’t tie it to anything.” 

Chapleski, 82, remembers sharing in the excitement when the war ended, although it took a while for him to realize exactly what the hubbub was all about. 

"When I heard, ‘Our boys are coming home!’ I was thrilled," he said. "I didn’t know how to ask the question, but, 'Oh boy! That means more kids,’ because we had a lot of girls in our family. But I wanted some guys." 

All nine of his uncles who served — four on his dad's side and five on his mom's — returned home from the war. 

Their safe return and glorious reunion with the family was an inspiration for Chapleski to capture his memories in a short piece he wrote: "A Christmas to Remember, 1945." 

"They are all gone now ... the real heroes and family members in my life," Chapleski's recollection begins. "And, with them, many of the stories about them and events that helped shape their lives and their country are gone." 

He clearly remembers the excitement that was in the air after the war ended, and how he couldn't wait for the boys to come home so he could have more playmates.

"As Christmas was about to happen, Grandma and Grandpa Chapleski arranged a big 'Welcome Home' party at their house on Christmas Eve," Chapleski wrote. "Any party at Grandma's house meant lots of great food to eat and lots of cousins to play with. I couldn't wait ... especially since I was finally going to see the 'boys' everyone was talking about." 

Chapleski grew up in Chicago. Grandma and Grandpa's house was only a short streetcar ride and a couple blocks away. Chapleski describes his grandparents' home all decorated for Christmas: "A tree loaded with ornaments and long strands of tinsel that looked like icicles. The lights on the tree looked like small glass candles with a liquid inside. They glowed at the base and sent a steady stream of little air bubbles up the clear glass tubes." 

An abundance of food had been prepared for a holiday feast. Then the doorbell rang, and in walked one of Chapleski's aunts with a couple cousins and a man he had never seen. 

"He had stripes on his sleeves and lots of colored ribbons over his front pocket," Chapleski wrote. "Everybody started to shout out with joy. They were hugging and kissing and laughing. I just stood there and watched. Then the doorbell rang again and another aunt and more cousins came in with another tall man, this time in a khaki green uniform, again with stripes and ribbons. The excited shouts with hugs and kisses erupted all over. Again, I stood in awesome silence … 'What is going on? ... Who are these men?' I thought to myself." 

This happened several times, the young Chapleski looking on in wonder.

"Then one of these fancy men came up to me and squatted down in front of me and said, 'Hello little fella, you must be Gregory.' How did he know who I was? And he even knew my name. 'I’m your Uncle Dick, your daddy’s brother,'" Chapleski wrote. "Then he reached out and hugged me and held me for what seemed a very long time. When he let go of me I took a step back and I saw tears streaming down his face. I said the only words that came to me, 'You look so pretty.' Everyone was watching us and the room broke out in laughter as he explained all the stripes and ribbons on his Army uniform, and that he came home for Christmas to be with all of us."

Nearly 80 years later, Chapleski and his wife, Sherill, have grown children and grandchildren. He wrote this memory down in 2020 at the encouragement of his granddaughter, Anna Chapleski, 24, of Post Falls, and first read this story to the family for Christmas 2021.

"I remember first mostly being in awe about his clarity of the moment and how that must have been incredibly emotionally impactful for him and everyone in the room," Anna said. "I thought it was beautifully written to see his life and our family's history. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room when he was done reading it."

She said because these uncles came home, their family has the life it has now.

"It has the principles of family, a feeling of togetherness and it reminds us there’s not a whole lot of permanence with anything," she said. "Aside from it being a Christmas story, there's the importance of asking my grandfather to write these stories down. It was a huge part of my childhood listening to these stories."

She didn't want his stories to be forgotten. He has since written a story crafted from his memories every Christmas.

As the last living attendee of that blessed Christmas Eve, Chapleski also doesn't want this very special memory to disappear.

“I just wanted to be sure our grandkids knew that these people did exist,” he said. “When I finally met these guys, I was just absolutely overwhelmed. They were all wearing these Class A uniforms and they were all different because some were in the Navy, some were in the Army, some were in the Army Air Corps, some were enlisted, some were officers. The uniforms varied a lot.

“They’re treasured people in my life. I miss them, especially this time of year," he said. "'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' — that's a World War II song, if you listen to the words. 'I’ll Be Home for Christmas' — I think of my uncles, because they weren’t here. I get emotional because I love those guys. And gals, their wives.

“Our kids had Spider-Man and Batman and Superman," Chapleski said. "My superheroes were these guys."

Read Chapleski's full recollection here. 

    In his Coeur d'Alene home office and studio Dec. 16, Greg Chapleski shares memories from Christmas Eve 1945. He was only 3 when all nine of his uncles returned home from World War II, which Chapleski captured in a short piece he wrote, "A Christmas to Remember, 1945."
  

    Four of Greg Chapleski's mom's brothers who fought in World War II are pictured here in a clip from a Polish newspaper May 20, 1944. Five of his dad's brothers also fought in the war. All nine of the uncles came home and a grand celebration was held Christmas Eve, 1945. Maternal uncles, from left: Florian Sarnecki, Ted Sarnecki, Ed Sarnecki and Dan Sarnecki.