By Tracy Manzer
Long Beach Press Telegram
Long Beach native and retired police officer George Hanania worked all his life to support his family.
He left school early, at about 15 years old - though he lied and said he was 18 - and joined the National Guard to help his family, which was still struggling to make a living following the Depression and “the dirty 30s.”
And as an adult George often worked more than one job, even after he joined the Long Beach Police Department in November 1951.
“For George, family was everything,” recalled his wife of 64 years, Nancy. “It was the most important thing.”
Which no doubt makes it even harder for George’s family to say goodbye.
The retired police officer died Nov. 18 at the age of 88. A memorial service is scheduled for Monday.
George and Nancy lived in the same East Long Beach home they bought in the 1940s. They were the first on their block to move in, and George had to work two jobs to pay the $43-a-month mortgage.
Though the Army got wise to George’s real age during his first enlistment and sent him home, he re-enlisted following his senior year at Poly High School, where he graduated a semester early in 1942.
“They needed the money,” Nancy recalled of her husband’s first shot at military life and his desire to help his family. “He joined the National Guard because they paid, but they were also the first called up.”
It was lucky for George his real age was discovered the first time. He was stationed in Pearl Harbor before he was sent home, and not too long before the Japanese attacked on Dec. 7, 1941.
That luck stayed with him during his service in the Pacific Theater of the war, from 1943-46, and again from 1948 to 1951. He earned the Bronze Star for combat in July 1945.
During his 26 years with the police department, George worked patrol, vice, traffic and detectives, before his retirement in 1977.
Whether in military service, or on the police force, George always called Long Beach home. He was born in the city on July 16, 1923, at the old Seaside Hospital.
His parents, who were Palestinian, came to America in 1912. George was the only Palestinian-American police officer on the force when he joined, so his friends and colleagues gave him a good- natured, though politically incorrect, nickname, “the camel herder.”
“He didn’t mind,” his wife said. “He never brought (any issues) home. ... For me, George was always just George.”
George, in fact, embraced the moniker and proudly wore a small gold camel charm on a chain around his neck until the day he died, said his son, retired LBPD Officer Paul Hanania.
“There was a doctor, he saved her life, so she had a little gold camel made for him,” Nancy said.
She and Paul both described George as a character. He had a lot of great stories and he instantly made people feel comfortable, they said.
He was also a talented penny-ante poker player who usually won.
Though George always swore he “would kick (Paul’s) butt” if his son joined the force, George was very proud when Paul did become an LBPD officer. Paul retired earlier this year.
George was equally proud of his other two children, John, who works as a contractor, and Diane, who is a librarian. He is also survived by three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, including two grandsons serving in the military.
His family asks that in lieu of flowers donations be made to the Wounded Warrior Project at www.woundedwarriorproject.org, or the Widows and Orphans Fund at the Long Beach Police Officers Association, www.lbpoa.org.
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