PORTLAND — Like a lot of men who served in World War II, Gerald V. Troiano rarely talked about his experiences. Now and again, he might drop a hint or two about what he saw, but generally he kept his memories private.

"He was another of the greatest generation, and now he's gone," said John Bellino of Cumberland, who is married to Troiano's niece, Mary. "He went through the Great Depression, World War II and the Cold War, and never, ever complained."

Troiano, 90, died Saturday after a brief illness.

He spent his life in Portland, though some of his most significant moments came overseas during World War II.

He was an artilleryman in the Army. He arrived in France after D-Day and ended up in Germany for the duration of the war.

"He never really went into a lot of details, but he was right there in the thick of it all the way to the end of the war. The only incident he really talked much about was one night when he was on guard duty," Bellino said. "Six Germans come walking out of the blue with their hands up, giving themselves up to him. But Gerry was all alone, with one rifle, and there were six of them. But they were fine. He walked them in without any problems. Can you imagine?"

He returned to Portland after the war, and worked at Southworth machine shop until he retired in the 1970s.

One aspect of his life that Troiano gladly talked about was his passion for hunting, and in particular archery. He perfected the art of bowhunting, and hunted well into his 70s. He won a lot of awards for his skills, and even made his own arrows. He was proud of his arrows and enjoyed showing them off.

Troiano was a bachelor much of his life. He was married briefly, but his strongest relationships were with his nieces and nephews, and with his community at large.

He was a communicant of St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church in Portland.

He was proud of his Italian roots, and spent many hours at the Italian Heritage Center in Portland.

A nephew by marriage, Bellino knew Troiano most of his life because they lived in the same neighborhood.

But it was only in recent years, when his wife began caring for her uncle, that Bellino got to know Troiano well. They shared conversations over a drink, and enjoyed reminiscing about the old days in Portland.

Despite his poor health at the end of his life, Troiano died contented, Bellino said.

He was a lifelong fan of the New York Yankees, and he was able to watch his team win the World Series last Wednesday night.

"That really was the last night that he was fairly coherent. He was well aware of the what was going on, and he was quite happy," Bellino said.

He is survived his sister Dolly Troiano of Westbrook. Three other sisters and a brother died before him.

"He was a very brave man, very stoic right up through the end. He never showed any fear of anything, never complained. He was a good guy. He was kind of rough around the edges sometimes, but through that rough exterior he was a good guy. I feel very lucky to have known him," Bellino said.

Staff Writer Bob Keyes can be contacted at 791-6457 or at:

bkeyes@pressherald.com