'Sully sailor' gets story told at Grout before his passing
Posted
by Pat Kinney
on Tuesday, January 7, 2025
WATERLOO — We at the Grout Museum District were very saddened to hear of the passing Dec. 31 of USS The Sullivans sailor Robert Bielak of Merrillville, Ind. — less than two months after he was here for Veterans Day observances at the Grout Museum District and the Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum.
He served on the now-decommissioned destroyer USS the Sullivans, DD-537, from 1956-60. It was the first of two ships named for the five Waterloo brothers who died together during World War II.
Mr. Bielak passed away at 11:20 p.m., New Years Eve with his daughters at his side, according to his son-in-law, Richard Eleczko.
Robert Bielak aboard the USS The Sullivans in Buffalo, NY
"His family would like to thank you and everyone else at the museum for how well he was treated during his visit this past Veterans Day. It truly was one of the highlights of his life. He told just about everyone that he came in contact with about his visit there," Richard Eleczko wrote.
He and a group of family members presented museum artifacts to Grout Museum District registrar Nick Erickson with a large heavy brass casting of the ship's seal. It was fixed to the side of the ship during his service, and he kept it from falling into the sea during a heavy storm when it became detached from its mounting. He saved the casting and brought it home to Indiana after his discharge from the service.
"He was also really proud that the plaque from the USS The Sullivan's was finally 'home,' " Mr. Eleczko wrote.
Mr. Bielak, a retired auto worker and maintenance person at his church, said he had always wanted to visit the museum and thought Veterans Day was a good day to come. He and extended family traveled several hours from Merrilville and Missouri to Waterloo to the museum and attended the program.
Museum staff also video recorded an oral history interview with Mr. Bielak on his service. He and his family also were able to meet with Kelly Sullivan, granddaughter and grandniece of the five brothers. She stopped at the museum at the end of her day teaching at Lincoln Elementary School in Cedar Falls.
Kelly Sullivan is the official Navy sponsor of the brothers' second namesake ship, the USS The Sullivans DDG-68, which is still on active duty. She likes to meet with visiting "Sully sailors" whenever possible and arranged their reunion here in 2022.
Grout staff also arranged for Mr. Bielak to speak by telephone to staff at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park in Buffalo, N.Y. where his old decommissioned ship is moored.
The trip was a birthday present of sorts, as Mr. Bielak turned 85 Nov. 12, the day after Veterans Day.
"Thank you again for making Robert feel like a celebrity while he was there, he really appreciated it," his son-in-law wrote.
The Grout Museum District and the Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum has more than 2,300 oral histories of veterans from Iowa or with Iowa connections, as well as farmers and other individuals important in local history. The interviews are on file in our archives in our museum library and we used excerpts from them for our exhibits.
It's all part of the Grout's "Voices of Iowa" project, initiated in 2001, by award-winning state-renowned Grout historian Bob Neymeyer, Ph.D. and museum staff. He holds a doctorate in history from the University of Iowa in Iowa City.
Any Iowa veteran is invited to tell their story for posterity. They and their loved once receive a complimentary recording of the interview as a keepsake.
If you are a veteran or know a veteran who would like to be interviewed, please contact Bob Neymeyer, Bob.Neymeyer@gmdistrict.org, or Grout oral historian Pat Kinney, Pat.Kinney@gmdistrict.org or call the Grout Musuem District at (319) 234-6357.
We encourage all veterans and their loved ones to get their stories told for posterity while they are able to do so, so the stories and lessons of their service and sacrifice may be preserved for future generations.