Times reporter killed covering war, August 18, 1944
Through most of World War II, Tom Treanor provided Times readers with firsthand accounts of the battle against the Axis as his travels took him to such places as China, South America and Europe.
This is the last story he wrote before being killed Aug. 18, 1944, when a tank made a turn and struck his jeep on a dusty road outside a French village that had just been liberated from the Nazis. He lived long enough to learn that the doctor attending his wounds was from Los Angeles: Capt. William Werner, 1402 Crenshaw Blvd. Treanor told Werner that he was sorry he wouldn't be able to cover the liberation of Paris.
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The Times established a journalism fellowship at UCLA in his honor, but it apparently hasn't been awarded since 1961. He also wrote a book titled "One Damn Thing After Another," published in 1944. Treanor was buried in an Army cemetery near Le Mans.
Other Times writers killed while covering violence include: Dial Torgerson, Honduras, 1983; Joe Alex Morris Jr., Tehran, 1979; and Ruben Salazar, East L.A., 1970.
Note: The Times identified the village where Treanor was fatally injured as "Eront," which cannot be located on any map of France. Possibly it was Ermont.
I am one of Tom treanor's sons.
Thank you for the information and article.
John Treanor
Posted by: john treanor | August 06, 2008 at 06:04 PM
I never knew Tom Treanor, but during WW II I sailed on a Liberty ship named Tom Treanor. Took a load of sugar from the Dominican Republic to London and back. I understand the ship was sent to Bikini Atoll for the first atom test. I guess it rests on the bottom of the Atoll.. The ship was fitted with King Posts instead of the usual three masts. A great ship
Posted by: David Peterson | April 26, 2009 at 11:23 AM