George Ghetia

Lt George Ghetia was in the [now-famous] Gen Bob Knapp Flight across the Atlantic, in a single mass with out loss (58 B-25 ships)  He served as a Commissioned Bombardier and flew in different B-25 Mitchell Bombers with different crews.... we will probably find that he had a favorite :)

Doug Orr and George Ghetia both graduated in Bombarbardier Class 42-13 at Kirtland as you suggested in your second paragraph above. But Doug graduated from Lakewood High and George graduated from West Tech in Cleveland. They met aboard a train on the way to training at Santa Ana, California. They later trained together at Albuquerque, NM; Walterboro, SC and DeRidder, LA prior to departing for overseas duty from West Palm Beach, FL.

Janice's LOVE STORY. . . is actually not an unusual one.....

After the WWII heroes came home, Janice Married fellow News reporter George Ghetia and raised 3 children with him in Lakewood ..Lt George Ghetia was a Commissioned Bombardier/Navigator with the 321st Bomb Group, 447th Bomb Squadron, B-25 Mitchell Medium Bombers in the MTO. George completed 50 Combat Missions and came home...In 1979, GEORGE died, and she took over his Ghetia Public Relations.

In 1984, she married her late husband's war comrade, Douglas Orr. The couple lived in Moreland Hills and later Hamlet Hills in Chagrin Falls. She held poetry workshops at Hamlet Hills, published collections of residents' poems and exhibited her watercolors. Lt Douglas Orr was a fellow graduate from Bombardier /Navigator School and/or most-probably, friends from high-school...... no doubt kept in touch with their respective families.

Sometime after George passed in 1979, Janice would marry Doug Orr in 1984. This is not very unusual as those bonds of friendship from school, through the War II and so forth, were "forever" ties. What a wonderful thing, truly.

Barbi Ennis Connolly writes; I have only met 2 other Vets (other than my Dad/Edward Ennis 1914-2005) ... one a brief visit and the other turned out to be my Dad/Ed's "other' best friend..... One came home (Walter Cantrell) and one did not (Charles O Brown, Jr. KIA 2 Dec.'43)..... and it turned out Walter lived 9 miles away! :) :) :)

At the 1st meeting, there was **Walter, "Brownie" and Ed** framed and on his wall.... we spoke generally and at the 2nd meeting his wife Jeanne kept looking at me, I asked what it was she needed to hear and she said she was hoping to hear the word "Spare Parts", a B-25 #41-12861 and I asked why??? She said that her 1st husband and Walter's BEST friend was Carl Hanemenn. Jeanne Hannemann Cantrell. Walter's regular B-25 was the "Harp" #41-31007.

What a wonderful story, later I would hear about one of the children "Carla", assuming that she was Carl and Jeanne's daughter but Walter said NO! My daughter, named after my best friend Carl :) They had kept in touch regularly and eventually Jeanne's husband Carl Hannemann had passed, only a few years apart from Walter's wife passing. After several years, they were together at a Christmas time, as usual and ..... :) You are NEVER too old for LOVE!

Several years ago, Walter and Jeanne moved to a MUCH warmer place about 100 miles away and as of the middle of 2011, both were doing well-enough. Walter turned 90 in Nov. 2011. (Time for me to check in to see how they are) Also during the visit, Walter said "Jeanne was a USA Girl". . . to which Jeanne said "Walter! A USO Girl!" . . . . OK, that's another story :)

Barbi Ennis Connolly, 319th and 321st BG Historian and Historical Researcher with our "History Team of 3, John Fitzgerald, Patti Johnson and myself" for the 57th Bomb Wing. PRINCESSBARBI_B25@msn.com