George Tronsrue 's Obituary
George M Tronsrue Jr, (Colonel, USA Retired), beloved Christian, Husband, Father, Grandfather, Son, Brother, Friend and Soldier passed away peacefully in his sleep on December 30th, 2013, ending a full life, well lived -- a meaningful and distinguished life of impact as a servant, leader, soldier and good man. Of humble beginnings, he was born on July 15, 1930 and raised in nearby Long Prairie, MN, by his parents, George M Tronsrue Sr and Ruth C Tronsrue, along with his older sister Helen Tronsrue (Kemerer). An Eagle/Explorer Scout and Varsity Letterman in Football, Basketball and Track during his high school years, he was the first person from Long Prairie to attend the US Military Academy at West Point in June 1948. At West Point, Tronsrue was a Varsity Letterman on Army's Rifle Team, a member of the famed West Point Glee Club and graduated number 30 in his class, commissioned as a 2LT in the Infantry in June, 1952. After graduation, Tronsrue volunteered for combat duty in the Korean War and enroute, attended and graduated from the Infantry Basic course, the Airborne school and also graduated in one of the initial Ranger School classes at Ft Benning, GA, in February 1953.
He then served as a platoon leader in a training company at Ft Ord, CA for 90-days prior to deploying to Korea. While in transit, the Korean War ended and Tronsrue and his shipmates were re-assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division in Japan. He served as a Company Executive Officer, Company Commander and Assistant Regimental S-3 on this tour with the 1st Cav. Tronsrue then attended language school in Brazil, in preparation for a three year assignment teaching Portuguese at West Point, where he ended his tour as the Head of the Portuguese Department. After attending the Infantry Officer Advanced Course, where he was the Distinguished Graduate, he was assigned as the S-3 of the 1st Battle Group, 2nd Inf Division at Ft Benning, GA, until volunteering to serve as an Advisor in the Republic of Vietnam from 1961-1962.
Tronsrue was one of the first American Advisors in the Vietnam War, part of MAAG, Saigon and served for 11 months of regular and sustained combat, as the Battalion Advisor to the 17th Civil Guard Battalion, protecting a section of the Mekong Delta, generally centered on the Meetah District and the surrounding areas. Tronsrue next attended the Command and General Staff College, then earned his Masters of International Relations from the Woodrow Wilson School, at Princeton University, from 1964-1966. After then graduating from the Armed Forces Staff College, Tronsrue served with the Office of Personnel Operations, Department of the Army, as the LTC Assignments Officer for Infantry Branch, until he volunteered to return to Vietnam as a Battalion Commander in November, 1967.
During his second combat tour in Vietnam, Tronsrue was the Commander of the 1/18 Infantry, 1st Inf Division from December 1967-June 1968, during some of the most vicious combat action during the Vietnam war, including the TET offensive, where, on the morning of the TET Offensive, the 1/18 Infantry was the sole unit inserted by helicopters onto the tarmac of Tan Son Nhut Airfield in order to repel an ongoing attack to take control of the airbase, which they successfully did. In May 1968, under his command, the 1/18 Infantry was engaged in a full day battle, one of the most lopsided US victories during the Vietnam War, the Battle of Tan Hiep, for which the Battalion received the Valorous Unit Award/Citation for their actions in battle.
Returning from Vietnam, Tronsrue then attended the Army War College and upon graduation, was assigned to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, International Security Affairs, at the Pentagon. There, among other critical projects, he was the principle staff officer responsible for support of the Nixon Administration's efforts during the Paris Peace Talks, which concluded America's role in Vietnam. He was then reassigned to become the G-1 (Division Personnel Officer) of the 82 Airborne Division (All American), at Ft Bragg, NC from July 1971-July 1972. His next assignment was to Ft Carson, CO where Tronsrue served as the 4th Infantry Division's Chief of Staff from 1972-1974 and then as the Commander, 3rd Brigade, 4th ID, a combat-deployable Brigade, from 1974-1976. George Tronsrue closed his military career by commanding the Western Region Recruiting Command -- the 9 western US states plus Alaska and Hawaii -- from July 1976 - September 1977, during the initiation of the All-Volunteer Army and a very critical time for Army recruiting in the post Vietnam era, based at Ft Baker, CA.
Upon retirement from the Army, Tronsrue went into the financial planning business and became a Certified Financial Planner, working at Dean Whitter Reynolds & Associates from 1978-1988, when he left Dean Whitter to start his own financial planning firm, Tronsrue & Associates, which he continued until his retirement from that business in 2010. During his military career Tronsrue received numerous awards and decorations to include, the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Ranger Tab and both Army and Portuguese Airborne Wings, in addition to medals and awards for personal valor and extraordinary service, as well as several notable foreign awards. In his post-Army life, Tronsrue served in various volunteer capacities, both related to the military and to his community. This included active service on church Boards, community and Homeowners Boards, service as the President/Vice President of the West Point Society of Puget Sound and notably, as the Honorary Colonel of the 18th Infantry Regiment for 5 years from 2002-2007, including a deployment with the 1/18 Infantry to Bosnia, in support of the peace keeping mission the unit was assigned during this time period.
Tronsrue is survived by his wife Judith French Tronsrue and her daughters and their spouses, Laura and Allan Lewis and Meri and Michael Harris. Judith was also his business partner/colleague for the past 20 years at Tronsrue & Associates, while living in the Seattle, WA area. He is also survived by h is former wife, Florence Kubicki Tronsrue of San Diego and their three children and spouses, Barbara and Jim Sullivan, George M. ( III ) and Cindy Tronsrue, and Karin Nutt and Dave Hendry. There are 15 grandchildren -- Lindsay Tronsrue Stowell, George C. Tronsrue, Michelle (Tronsrue) Luckes , David Tronsrue, Daniel Sullivan, Martin Sullivan, James Sullivan, Thomas Sullivan, Igor Sullivan, Natasha Sullivan, Cameron Nutt, Caroline Nutt, Sheldon Lewis, Sarah Harris and David Harris and two great-grandchil dren, Samuel Stowell and Victoria Sullivan. Tronsrue was predeceased by his son-in-law, Brian Nutt, Karin's husband and Norah Harris, daughter of Meri and Michael Harris and Judy and George's granddaughter.
A Memorial Service will be held on February 8th, 2014 at the Main Post Chapel on Fort Lewis from 4:00 - 5:30PM, with a reception to follow upstairs in the auditorium / fellowship hall.
In Lieu of flowers or other donations, Colonel Tronsrue requested that people desiring to remember or honor him, make donations in his memory to the Army Emergency Relief Fund -- see www.aerhq.org
Arrangements by Mountain View Funeral Home. Memories may be shared on the Tribute Wall.
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