When a German Army officer told the then-20-year-old Bill Genge, an Army Air Corps pilot whose P-47 Thunderbolt was shot down near Amsterdam in German-occupied Holland, that "for you the war is over," the second lieutenant began 13 months of solitary confinement as a prisoner of war.
And although Mr. Genge tried to put the years he spent as a POW during World War II behind him, members of a Dutch historical group that had dug up his Thunderbolt in the early 1980s invited him to visit Amsterdam and be honored for his service to their country.
William Harrison Genge, of Shadyside, former CEO of Ketchum Communications, died on Thursday, Nov. 24, 2005, at UPMC Southside hospital. He was 82.
"The Dutch historical group presented Bill with his shredded glove liner that they retrieved from the wreckage," said Jerry Voros, who was Mr. Genge's chief operating officer at Ketchum Communications.
"They were able to find Bill from the serial number on the Thunderbolt's engine. It took them four years, but they were determined to find the Americans who fought with them during World War II."
"Bill had started his career with Gulf Oil," said Voros. "He had some very impressive accounts, such as Westinghouse, Calgon and H.J. Heinz. He was responsible for the first TV-sponsored NCAA football game for Westinghouse.
"Under his leadership, the company's billings grew dramatically," said Voros. "When Bill retired in 1980, our billings totaled over $1 billion a year."
Born and raised in Warren, Warren County, Mr. Genge was one of two children of Valleau Francis Melville and Beatrice Badger Genge. His father was an insurance executive and entrepreneur.
Upon his liberation and discharge in 1945, he married Beverly Milway, his high school sweetheart, and with the help of the GI Bill, he received his undergraduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1948. Mrs. Genge died in 1991.
"My father loved words," said his son, Dean Genge. "While he was a prisoner in Germany, he read the dictionary over and over. My father was also a man who understood the values he wanted to use to guide his life.
"He had a written guide that he called 'Genge's Rules for Behavior for Home and Away Games.' He stressed values, individualism, consequences of actions and life's and God's judgments."
Mr. Genge's former son-in-law, Douglas Dick, co-chairman of the Dick Corp., said the only time he saw his father-in-law break down and cry was in 1980, when "we presented him with a carved replica of his P-47 for his birthday."
"Both of my parents were involved with the Pittsburgh Symphony. And as involved as our parents were with numerous organizations and charities, they made time to be with Dean and myself.
Deborah Dick said that when she and her brother were children, the family attended Pleasant Hills Community Presbyterian Church. When the family moved to Shadyside, they attended Shadyside Presbyterian Church.
Mr. Genge is survived by his daughter, Deborah Genge Dick, of Shadyside; son, William Dean Genge, of Aspinwall; daughter-in-law, Margot McDonnell Genge, of Aspinwall; five grandchildren, William Harrison II and Tyler McDonnell Genge, and Alexander Genge, Gavin Douglas and Cameron Cora Dick; and his former wife, Marian Sachs Winson.
Friends will be received from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday at the Duquesne Club, Downtown. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday in Shadyside Presbyterian Church, Westminster Place.
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