This just in from Jim Korkis:

[One of the people I work with is Anne Cullen and she shared with me the following picture and the following information:

“My Great Uncle’s name was John Korista he was the Captain of the S.S. Independence. It sailed from New York to Europe and back. His wife my Aunt Nita also worked on the ship, she was the manager of the Saks Fifth Ave. store. After John left the S.S. Independence he was Captain of the First Nuclear Power Freighter the Savannah. Both the S.S. Independence and its sister ship the S.S. Constitution still sail today off the coast of Hawaii.”

Now, my question is, what is the rest of the story? When was this picture taken? Anne says that she remembers her Aunt Nita talking about Lillian, Walt’s wife, coming to visit her shop and that Lillian was very nice. ]

Jim mentioned that Michael Barrier later sent him additional information:

[Walt (and Lilly and Diane and Sharon) sailed back from Italy to the U.S. on the Independence in both August 1951 and August 1952, according to the immigration/emigration records available online, but Walt looks a little older in your photo than I would expect him to look on those dates. He and Lilly flew back from London on Pan Am after their summer 1953 visit.

Unfortunately, the online records extend only up to 1957, so if Walt sailed back on a later date (as opposed to flying, which he did most if not all of the time from the late '50s on), there's no easily accessible record of that.]