POCASSET – George Treano, husband of Rosalina L. (Costa) Treano, died at the Royal Nursing Center, Falmouth on May 30, 2010. He was 85.
A resident of Pocasset, formerly of Taunton, and Largo, FL, and retired Captain of the Taunton Police Department, he was nicknamed “Trigger” due to his shooting accuracy.
Born in the borough of Queens, NY, the son of the late Frank and Loretta (Peters) Treano, he grew up in his beloved Brooklyn, and in The Bronx, NY.
Particularly known throughout his life for his memory and mathematical skills, Mr. Treano graduated from Evander Childs High School in the Bronx in two and a half years. He later received an associate’s degree in law enforcement from Bristol Community College in 1976.
He served in the United States Army from 1943 to 1946 in the 29th Division, 175th Combat Infantry Regiment and rose in rank to Technical Sergeant. Mr. Treano was stationed in 1943 to Lands End and Penzance in Cornwall, England, preparing for, and then participating in the D-DAY, June 6, 1944, Allied Invasion of Europe at Omaha Beach, Normandy, France, and the liberation of the French provinces of Normandy and Brittany (Brest, France). On December 15, 1944, the day before the Battle of the Bulge, his division and his squad were the furthest east of any of the Allies, 16 miles into Germany.
Throughout the battle, his squad held their position on the northeasterly side of the Bulge at Kirchberg, Germany on the Roer River. On February 23, 1944, he personally was the first GI to cross in the 29th Division’s famous Roer River Crossing into Julich Germany.
The 29th also swept through the Rhineland and Central Germany, and was the first to liberate a German slave labor internment camp.
He also had a German V-2 rocket division surrender to his command at the Elbe River where the Allies subsequently met the Russians.
He was awarded the Bronze Star, the European, African, Middle East Campaign Medal with Arrowhead (Normandy Invasion) with four stars for Normandy, Northern France, the Rhineland and Central Europe, the Victory Medal, the Army of Occupation Medal, the Combat Infantry Badge, the Expert Rifle Medal, the Expert Anti tank (Bazooka) Medal, and the Good Conduct Medal.
He was presented on May 23, 1994 with the Normandy Medal by the Provincial Governor of Caen France commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the D-Day Invasion.
On July 15 2000, he was presented by the French Counsel the Citation of the French Legion of Merit on the flight deck of the United States aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy in Boston Harbor.
Mr. Treano served on the Taunton Police Department from 1954 to 1982 as a Patrolman, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain and as Acting Chief of Police. He served as Staff and Line Commander, and was the Commander in charge of the Detective Division. He was also the first Police Prosecutor in Juvenile and District Courts, the first Italian-American member of the Department, and was responsible for the first female, and the first African-American to serve as Detectives, and served as Officer in the Taunton Branch of the Massachusetts Police Association, and as President of the Taunton Mutual Police Benefit Association, which benefited the widows and children of police officers and sick police officers.
One of the founders of the Taunton Police Junior Band, Mr. Treano was a member of the Elks, the Sons of Italy, VFW and was a communicant of St. John the Evangelist Church in Pocasset.
Besides his wife of Pocasset, he leaves a son Robert G. Treano of Taunton; a daughter, Janice M. Treano of Pocasset; three grandchildren, Eric Galligan and Emily Ruth Treano, both of Taunton, and Jeffrey R. Charron of Bonita Springs, FL; and several nieces and nephews. He was also the brother of the late Rose Dellert and Margaret Caruso.
A Funeral Mass will be held at St. John the Evangelist Church, 841 Shore Road, Pocasset on Friday, June 4th at 11 a.m. Committal Services are scheduled for 12:45 p.m. at the MA National VA Cemetery in Bourne. Relatives and friends are invited to attend. Calling Hours will be held at the Silva Funeral Home, 80 Broadway, Taunton, on Thursday, June 3rd, from 4 to 7 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Sons of Italy, Columbia Lodge Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 988, Taunton, MA 02780.
www.silvafuneralhome.com.