14HB.  Janette Margaret Duffy was born in South Haven, Van Buren County, Michigan, on Thursday, July 8, 1920, and died in Buchanan, Berrien County, Michigan, on September 30, 1999. She died at home from complications of Alzheimer's disease. Robert Wayne Benson was born in Brownsburg, Indiana, on Sunday, September 18, 1921. They were married in Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo County, Michigan, on Monday, June 21, 1948. She took the name Janette Margaret Benson. She is the daughter of Eugene Joseph and Emma Ina (Youngblood) Duffy. He is the son of Groe and Blanche (Haney) Benson. They had seven children:

Janette graduated as valedictorian of her high school class in Edwardsburg (Cass County, Michigan). She attended St. Mary's College in South Bend and then Nazareth College in Kalamazoo. She was just a few credits short of graduation but didn't have the money to finish. Her father wouldn't let her use her full scholarship to Western Michigan College (in Kalamazoo).

Janette took a job with Michigan Bell Telephone Company where she soon became a supervisor and traveled from town to town throughout lower Michigan. She loved this job and had many fond memories and friendships that continued throughout her life.

Janette always sent letters to her cousins during the Second World War, Her cousin, Bob, was in the same Army Infantry unit as Bob Benson. Since the latter was not receiving any mail, Janette began writing to him. They met in person after he was discharged. He would travel every other weekend from Rensselaer, Indiana, to visit her in Kalamazoo. They were married several years after that. They first lived in Rensselaer. Before Paul was born they moved to Kalamazoo.

Bob started out as Service Manager at the Packard garage from 1950 to 1958. From 1959 to 1983 he worked at the American Motors dealership in Kalamazoo as Parts Manager. It was actually a Rambler dealership at first. He had a life-long interest in automobiles.

Bob had only one brother, Cecil, who remained a bachelor and settled in South Bend, Indiana. His parents had separated and he lived with his mother until he was nine years old when she died. His father had all he could do to take care of himself so he lived with relatives until age 14. After that, he was on his own and helped care for his father as much as he could.

In January, 2000, Bob wrote:

I started out in a non combat unit...a transportation corp. My classification was 1B because I only have vision in one eye. But when we landed in Liverpool our commander found out that the Germans had taken over the harbor in Antwerp. We were going to replace the people running the tugboats in the harbor. So instead they sent us to Plymouth, England where we guarded the warehouses on the dock as military police (in the pitch dark). Volunteers were recruited for the coming up Battle of the Bulge. So the 15 of us that volunteered were reclassified to 1A to qualify for the infantry. The last 3 months I spent in the infantry until my ulcer flared up and I was hospitalized. Following that I returned to the States on a hospital ship. They had red crosses all over it so even the destroyers just passed on by. Upon arriving in New York on a bus in our robes we were surrounded by well wishers near the Empire State Building who congratulated us for our part in the war. Most of the other soldiers had been hurt in combat. It was really overwhelming although I hadn't been a victim of combat myself. I was sent to Topeka, Kansas to a hospital and was discharged from there May of 1945, after 3 years in the service.

The Social Security Death Index gives Janette's SSN as 382-20-7885 and confirms her birth and death dates.

• Janette and Robert Benson