Vietnam Veteran To Lead Memorial Day Parade In West Haven

Written by Michael P. Walsh

WEST HAVEN, CT — Vietnam veteran George “Butch” Treat will serve as the grand marshal of the city’s Memorial Day parade when the patriotic procession steps off at 10:30 a.m. Monday.

Treat, a Marine Corps veteran who served a tour of duty in the Vietnam War in 1967-68, will lead the more than 50-unit procession of veterans, dignitaries and bands along the 1 ½-mile parade route, which follows Campbell Avenue from Captain Thomas Boulevard to Center Street.

Like his grand marshal predecessors, he embraced the recognition with typical grace and humility.

“I feel fantastic that they chose me,” said Treat, a lifetime member of the American Legion and Disabled American Veterans. “The Memorial Day parade is really great. It’s all for the veterans, but it’s all for the kids too — to make them realize what the day is all about.”

Treat, a longtime Westie, was chosen by the West Haven Veterans Council, which helps the city organize the annual parade, for his years of service to the military, his fellow vets and his community, the latter of which is the cornerstone of grand marshal qualifications, council President Dave Ricci said.

“It is a profound honor to name Butch Treat as the grand marshal of our 2026 Memorial Day parade,” Mayor Dorinda Borer said. “As a Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam War who also served on Okinawa, Butch embodies the bravery and selflessness that we pause to honor on this sacred day. Beyond his time in uniform, his steadfast commitment to his fellow veterans through the American Legion and Disabled American Veterans shows that his heart for service never wavered.

“We are proud to have Butch lead our procession as we remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.”

The 2026 edition of southern Connecticut’s oldest Memorial Day parade has no rain date and will feature three marching divisions and a military division, as well as special accommodations for disabled veterans.

The procession will include an eight-seat golf cart of former grand marshals that is adorned with a star gracing the names of those deceased. Other veterans will ride on a float.

It will also include a flyover by a C-130 Hercules, a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft operated by the Connecticut Air National Guard.

Treat, 78, will steer the procession from a golf cart flanked by the West Haven Police Honor Guard.

The 90-minute parade, in memory of the deceased members of the U.S. armed forces of all wars, will showcase the city’s legion of veterans groups, including West Haven Vietnam Veterans, Surfside Veterans and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9422.

The procession will include the West Haven High School, Bailey Middle School and Carrigan Intermediate School marching bands, along with the New Haven County Firefighters Emerald Society Pipes & Drums, bands from the Rock House School of Music and the Infamous Fusion Drill Team & Drum Line.

It will include members of the West Haven High cheerleading and dance teams, cheerleaders from the West Haven Seahawks, and members of the Mulkerin School of Irish Dance.

The procession will also spotlight the traditional contingent of youth organizations and sports leagues, dance troupes and Scout troops, fraternal organizations and service clubs, local and state leaders, police officers and firefighters.

After the parade, a wreath-laying ceremony will take place at the World War I Armistice Memorial on the Green.

Treat was born in New Haven to George Treat Jr., who worked as a lab technician at United Illuminating, and the former Dorothy Wiberg, who cooked and tendered bar at “numerous” West Haven watering holes, including Burton’s on Wood Street.

Butch Treat spent his early years in the Elm City before moving to West Haven at age 10.

A resident of West Haven’s Center neighborhood, he attended Union and Stiles elementary schools and West Haven High School.

But before he could graduate with his classmates in 1965, Treat recalled that a sense of duty to his country called him away.

“A lot of us joined the military willingly,” he said. “We felt a sense of duty to our country.”

In January of ’65, Treat enlisted in the Marines and completed basic training 13 weeks later at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina.

After boot camp, he was stationed with the 1st Marine Division at Camp Hansen on Okinawa, Japan, where he served as a messman and later a motor transport operator.

In August 1967, just shy of his 20th birthday, Treat landed in Southeast Asia, where he served as an infantryman with Marine Aircraft Group 12 of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, helping to protect the Chu Lai Air Base in the Quang Nam province of South Vietnam.

“We were sent out at night to protect the perimeter of the base,” Treat said. “In 1967, we were part of a counterinsurgency where we were sent out on patrol in the jungle.”

The Vietnam War is a story of patriots who pushed through jungles and rice paddies, heat and monsoon, fighting heroically to preserve the ideals and liberties that Americans hold dear.

From la Drang to Hue, U.S. troops won every major battle of Vietnam. Through more than a decade of combat over air, land and sea, they upheld the highest traditions of the armed forces. And more than 58,000 sacrificed all they had and all they would ever know in service to their country.

Treat was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps in January 1971. He received several commendations, including the Vietnam Service Medal with four bronze stars and the Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation.

After the Marines, Treat returned to West Haven and worked as a mechanic at Saab Motors in New Haven.

On Sept. 23, 1972, he married the former Cheryl Johnson, whose deep family roots in West Haven span generations.

Four years later, Treat would begin a long and proud career with West Haven’s Department of Public Works.

He was hired by the city in August 1976 and served as a garage mechanic. He was promoted to lead garage mechanic in June 1984.

He then worked as a heavy equipment operator from April 1987 to July 2000. In February 2004, he was promoted to vehicle maintenance foreman and served in the post until his retirement in July 2012.

Treat and his wife live on Park Street in the Center and have two adult children, Christopher Treat and Casey Treat Kennedy, who both still call West Haven home.

The couple also have three grandchildren: Sebastian Treat, Rafael Treat and Reagan Kennedy.