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James Keleshian; honored by France

James Keleshian, 90, of Broomall, a World War II gunner who received the coveted French Legion of Honor 67 years after seeing action in the skies over Europe, died Tuesday, Feb. 26, of respiratory failure at Bryn Mawr Hospital.

James Keleshian, 90, of Broomall, a World War II gunner who received the coveted French Legion of Honor 67 years after seeing action in the skies over Europe, died Tuesday, Feb. 26, of respiratory failure at Bryn Mawr Hospital.

Last February, during ceremonies at the French Embassy in Washington, Mr. Keleshian was named one of 24 "chevaliers of the Legion of Honor," France's highest civilian award, said his daughter Janice M.

The medal, reserved for U.S. servicemen who helped liberate France from the Nazis, is similar to the U.S. Medal of Honor. "It felt good to be honored by France, and I enjoyed the hors d'oeuvres and champagne," Mr. Keleshian was quoted as saying in the May 22, 2012, issue of Media Town Talk.

Born in West Philadelphia in 1922, Mr. Keleshian graduated from Overbrook High School and was headed for a career as an auto mechanic when war broke out against Germany and Japan.

He enlisted in the Army Air Forces, choosing it over the infantry because he wanted to sleep in a bed, not a foxhole, he told the Town Talk.

Though he had never fired a gun, he trained with the 450th Bombardment Group to be one of six gunners on a B-24 Liberator bomber. The plane flew 50 bombing missions over occupied countries in southern Europe. It emerged with only a bullet-pocked fuselage and a minor injury to one crewman.

After his 50th air mission on May 27, 1944, Mr. Keleshian called a halt to his flying, he reminisced to Town Talk writer Kenn Stark.

In the mid-1940s, Mr. Keleshian went to work as a mechanic for General Motors Corp. in Philadelphia. He retired in 1976 and began a second career as a service writer for Videon Chevrolet in Newtown Square. He retired for good at 81.

His daughter said that a fire in 1973 at government archives in Missouri destroyed the personnel records of Pennsylvania's World War II veterans, including her father's.

Without them, it was difficult to gather proof of his service, but with the help of politicians and federal agencies over two years, she succeeded.

"It's something that he deserved," his daughter said.

Mr. Keleshian and the former Rose Arakelian married in 1946. She died in June 2010.

He was a member of the American Legion and St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Apostolic Church. Besides his daughter, he is survived by another daughter, Gloria R.

A funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 28, at the Frank C. Videon Funeral Home, 2001 Sproul Rd., Broomall. Friends may call at 10 a.m. Interment will be in Arlington Cemetery, Drexel Hill.

Donations may be sent to St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Apostolic Church, 8701 Ridge Ave., Philadelphia 19128.