Stories and Photos

Fr. Fred Bergewisch, SJ

I am one of five children, four sisters and myself. I was born in a family of German ancestry right after WWI in l920. German was spoken at times in the family, but we kids were forbidden to speak it because culturally it was not the thing. It was a mystery that something we kids thought was fun was forbidden. An even greater mystery to me is that I am left-handed, but that was not culturally accepted either, so I was forced to do things in a way I do not naturally favor. All this has worked out OK though since it gives me an appreciation for the relativity of cultural values in the face of eternal values that are within me at a deep level. But to get on with the story.

I loved my younger sister, Dorothy, two years younger than myself. But when I was ten and she was eight years old, she died of a burst appendix. The priest brought her first and only communion on the day she died. That was my first experience of death and it was more than just a casual one. For eight years, I had enjoyed her love. Now I no longer had a sister I loved.

To get on with the story: The US in the thirties entered the depression era so I had to deliver papers, caddy at the golf course and earn a little bit to help the family. I was interested in the priesthood even in the eighth grade and admired the classmates who, at that time, entered the minor seminary. I went to St Xavier High School in Cincinnati from l934 to l938 and earned my way through school. My dad lost his job for a time and mortgaged the house. I finished high school, sensing I had an obligation to help the family financially before attempting to enter the Jesuits who, to me, were a very appealing group of men. The long and short of things is that I did a year of business school, coming by some skills in typing and accounting.

The FBI hired me in January of l940 to handle typing and to supervise some of the physical aspects of the office. My title was "chief clerk." Much of the detailed work from day to day was routine procedure, but I do recall perhaps the most memorable day of the three years there. I kept the office open in the evenings and on Sundays. I was alone in the office Sunday, December seventh l94l and the Teletype rang. It was something special because all of the fifty-two offices at that time were called to a common summons. I decoded the message only to learn "United States attacked at Pearl Harbor. Apprehend Japanese suspects at once." I called the special agent in charge and he complied with the command. We had very few suspects in the Cincinnati office area which divided the state of Ohio with Cleveland, but it was a different situation with the offices such as San Francisco and those on the West Coast. Apprehensions were made and not just of a few. I do remember that as I continued to enter the office every day I had a sense of an injustice being put into practice. If I had slant eyes, I suppose I might have been interned. The lettering on the office door was UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION. An injustice was done to some that morning, even as now in the wake of Sept 11, 200l, injustices could be done against Afghans, and we, hopefully, will become tranquil and JUST in whatsoever measures we ultimately take.

I am glad for a delay in our response and a consultation of the international community, at which we have not always been an exemplar. To make a long story short, let me just say that I resigned from the FBI at the close of three years employment. We were now, of course into the WWII at full tilt. The FBI did not readily accept my resignation as my work was considered an aspect of an "essential industry" but nevertheless I made the decision to resign and entered the US Navy receiving a Commission through Cornell University's Midshipman School.

I trained at Solomons, MD in the Chesapeake Bay and shortly was underway on an amphibious craft to pass thru the Panama Canal into the Pacific theater of the war. My role on the ship was Navigator and executive officer. We were a small amphibious craft that could shoot down suicide planes, put out fires and send off a large number of rockets to soften the enemy beaches for the landing of our invasion troops. Every day at Okinawa one in three of our ships fell victim to the incoming kamikazes. DEATH was all around me and on a daily basis. Why were young men taken in the prime of life? Why did I survive? I don't know. But death brings you to a profound sense of mortality even as did the events of September 11 of this year.

After victory at Okinawa we sailed for the Philippines. At Leyte we were mustering for the big invasion of Japan when the horrendous atom bombs were dropped at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Initially there was the news "temporary cessation of hostilities" and Admiral Halsey added a whimsical note "but if any planes come near your ship, shoot them down in a friendly fashion." Fortunately, the peace held and shortly thereafter, the Peace treaty was signed on the Missouri and I navigated my ship to Tokyo Bay where I was to remain for ten months. I went ashore a number of times and came to sense respect for the Japanese whom I had been trained to see as enemies. Again experience of how fundamental truth can relativize the cultural values, even as death can relativize whatever temporal values have been holding captive the reality of our creaturehood ever in the 'hands of a loving God.'

I returned to the states after ten months in Japan. I had saved up four thousand dollars of officer pay so the first day back home in Cincinnati I paid off the mortgage on my dad's house and entered the Society of Jesus. I found the training the best that human ingenuity can offer to the men who apply. But my training was circumstantial for my time. After teaching in a couple of our high schools and teaching theology at Loyola University Chicago for 30 years, I attempted Spanish at the age of 68 and went to Peru where I taught in a seminary and heard, probably, l00,000 confessions during the time I was there.

Now I am back in Chicago moving on to 82 years of age. It is a new beginning and I feel scared. I asked someone after returning here: "where do I get a typewriter?" His answer was "in the antique shop." So I now have less than the skills of a ten year old as I'm hacking away at this computer and trying to enter into an era for which I feel scarily unprepared. The computer sits like a monster on my desk. So much of the modern cultural talk is a jargon I don't understand. The physical forces to respond to challenge are less than they formerly were. My consolation is that the world is not upon my shoulders. God knows what He is doing.

I take great delight that in this third millennium God will raise up those who are interested in His plan and willing to dedicate their lives to His Cause. Bless you for your interest. I was 26 yrs old when I entered and have enjoyed a rich 55 years in the Society. May you be blessed in making this inquiry. You are in my masses and prayers. I'd be happy to answer any questions but Dave Godleski is a Jesuit of this third millennium, awesome in his technical skills and mastery of the Jesuit life in its current appeal. You can see him or see me, but whatever the contact, know that prayer and the grace of God and a natural curiosity about the Society is what is at the core of both of our vocations. Good luck, Godspeed, and may you come to know God's overwhelming love for you, maybe most especially in the brokenesses you have experienced along the line. Don't be intimidated by us. We are a wonderful body of talented men but also broken in so many ways even as you are. Only being a Jesuit and living as one for a number of years can open you to what is God's deepest plan for the Jesuits. The longest journey begins with a single step. Thanks for making the inquiry about the journey. We stand by you in any way we can. God bless you. So long, Fr. Fred.

archived stories