|
|
|
|
|
PRIVATE BELTRANDO GIANNETTI was the son of Italian immigrants, Eliso and Josephine Giannetti. He was born in New Jersey in 1919, the second of at least 5 children. In 1939 the family was living at 631 Point Street in Camden NJ, where his father was working as a construction laborer. The family later moved to 915 North 7th Street. He attended high school for one year before entering the work force. Beltrando Giannetti was inducted into the United States Army in 1941 and entered service on January 8, 1942. He was assigned to the 1119th Quartermaster Company, Aviation, which serviced the 384th Bomb Group, Heavy. The 384th Bomb Group was activated on December 1, 1942, at Gowen Field, Idaho. Training commenced at Wendover, Utah, on January 2, 1943 through April 1, 1943. The unit then moved to Sioux City, Iowa, for final training. The ground unit left for Camp Kilmer on the 9th May 1943, sailing on the Queen Elizabeth on the 27th of May 1943 and arrived in Greenock on the 2nd of June 1943. The aircrews left Sioux City with their new B-17F's for Kearney, Nebraska on May 3, 1943, and then to the United Kingdom via Bangor, Maine, Goose Bay, and Gander, Newfoundland. One B-17 ditched in the Atlantic but the crew was rescued. The first aircraft arrived in England on the 25th May 1943. The 384th established its home at Grafton-Underwood, England, Station 106. Combat training continued through June, and the group flew its first operational mission on June 22, 1943. Private Beltrando Giannetti died while serving in the United Kingdom of causes not related to combat on July 29, 1943. He was survived by his parents, brothers, and sister. His mother, Josephine Giannetti, was naturalized as an American citizen on August 20, 1949. |
