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Nashua police pay tribute to fallen officer ‘Rocky’ Graziano on the 56th anniversary of his death

By Dean Shalhoup - Senior Staff Writer | Aug 22, 2020

Dean Shalhoup

Longtime reporter, columnist and photographer, is back doing what he does best ñ chronicling the people and history of Nashua. Reaching 40 years with The Telegraph in September, Deanís insights have a large, appreciative following.

Many times, especially during school-free summers, I’d eagerly ask the little three-word question pretty much every time Pop answered the phone, talked briefly, then hung up and headed for the nook off the hallway where he stored his camera equipment.

“Can I go?”

For the uninitiated, Pop was the go-to guy for photos (and a bunch of other things) for our predecessor-in-name Nashua Telegraph from before I was born until I hit my 30s.

The telephone – the black object with a black cord that tethered the user to its immediate vicinity – is how Pop got his news tips in a pre-scanner, pre-Broadcastify, pre-Home Patrol world.

Growing up, I became quite adept at figuring out the purpose of the calls by stringing together a few key words or phrases: “Oh thank you,” of course, meant a compliment; “what time?” probably meant someone was angling for coverage of their event; “OK I’ll take care of it, thanks” likely meant a minor error needed correcting, or perhaps the boss was calling with an assignment.

Photo courtesy of Nashua police An "EOW" – end of watch – poster Nashua police created in memory of patrol officer Edward Graziano shortly after he was killed in a crash on Daniel Webster Highway.

Breaking news had its own language. “Where?” “How long ago?” “How bad?” “OK, got it … yeah thanks” always meant something worth covering was going down.

“What is it?” “Can I go?”

I knew that if it was a fire, a big enough fire, we were about to hear the “boodang” blast forth, adding to the excitement. Almost always I got an “OK, let’s go” for big fires, sometimes with a “here, carry this” tossed in.

Motor vehicle crashes were a different animal. Affirmative responses to “Can I go?” weren’t as common as with fires. For some reason, crashes drew more “not this time” responses, to my disappointment.

Certainly, seeing people hurt wasn’t why I wanted to accompany Pop to crashes he needed to take photos of, and sometimes write about. Rather it was the excitement of being at the forefront of a spot-news event, and watching, often helping, Pop do his job.

Photo courtesy of Nashua police A Nashua police photo from the early 1960s of patrol officer Edward Graziano on his motorcycle may have been taken on Lake Street, not far from his residence on Brook Street.

To this day, I carry memories, albeit rather vague, but still very much with me, of the summer Friday evening I got one of those “not this time” responses.

There was already excitement in the air over at the family homestead on Atherton Avenue; the next day was not only a Saturday, it was the Saturday we were to head to Wells Beach, Maine to start our annual two-week vacation.

I think it was the way Pop said “not this time,” coupled with the unusually somber look on his face, that convinced me to mutter “OK” rather than launch into my usual “oh, c’mon … why not?” routine.

Good call.

I’d learn sometime later that the breaking-news assignment Pop was dispatched to right around suppertime that Friday evening would be among the most difficult of his 33-year Telegraph career.

Photo courtesy of Nashua police A Nashua police photo from the early 1960s shows patrol officer Edward Graziano on his motorcycle in front of the old police station on Elm Street.

I don’t know if Pop knew Nashua police officer Edward “Rocky” Graziano personally; he never said, and I never asked. But I do know that he knew many of the department’s higher-ups, like Capt. Philip McLaughlin, Lt. Armand Roussel, state police Col. Joseph Regan – a former Nashua police chief – quite well.

He also knew quite well Chief Paul J. Tracy, who Pop’s fellow Telegraph reporter John Stylianos described as “a tear-stained Chief Tracy” in his story that ran with Pop’s photos the following day.

Graziano was 26, and married with three young children when he died within a half-hour of the crash involving his police motorcycle and a car he was attempting to pull over on the Daniel Webster Highway near Hayward’s Ice Cream.

Today I gladly share this space with a story current members of the Police Department put together in tribute to Graziano, in observance of last week’s 56th anniversary of the tragedy.

Meanwhile, on Aug. 14, 1970, the sixth anniversary of the crash, a young and up-and-coming Telegraph newsman named John Harrigan penned an at-times detailed account of the tragedy.

Photo courtesy of Nashua police A Nashua police honor guard conducts a brief ceremony in honor of fallen motorcycle officer Edward Graziano on Daniel Webster Highway between Rivier University and Hayward's Ice Cream, the location of the crash that claimed his life on Aug. 14, 1964.

Early on in the story, Harrigan noted how “a lot of things have changed” in the six years since the crash. “Some of Graziano’s friends are still on the force, but a lot of them have left,” he wrote.

Then, he fairly editorializes, “One thing was changed for good by the death of Graziano: There are no motorcycles in use on the Nashua Police Department now.”

It took a long time, but as we now know, the department eventually brought motorcycles back onto the force.

Harrigan also notes that the department’s command staff reported that they planned to bring charges to the grand jury. But after a long investigation, which included inspecting in great detail the 1963 Oldsmobile that struck Graziano, no charges were ever filed.

“The case is simply listed as a tragic accident in the police files,” he concluded.

The front page of the Aug. 15, 1964 Nashua Telegraph carries the story, along with photos, of the tragic crash that claimed the life of Nashua motorcycle patrol officer Edward "Rocky" Graziano the day before.

Dean Shalhoup’s column appears weekly in The Sunday Telegraph. He may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

Nashua Police Pay Tribute

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following tribute to Edward “Rocky” Graziano, the Nashua motorcycle patrolman who was killed in a crash in 1964, was composed by police officers and submitted to The Telegraph by Capt. Thomas Bolton.

Edward C. “Rocky” Graziano was born on May 19, 1938 in Somerville, Massachusetts.

A son of Anthony and Irene Graziano, he attended school in Arlington, Massachusetts and graduated from Arlington High School in 1956. He continued his education at St. Anselm College, graduating with high honors in criminology.

Prior to joining the Nashua Police Department, he was a member of the Massachusetts National Guard and the Middlesex County Police Department. He also served with the Durham Police Department, where he was acting chief for nine months.

Edward and his wife, Sylvia (Davis) Graziano, had three children: Mark, Brian and Kerri.

He was appointed as a special officer in Nashua on June 7, 1961 and became a patrolman on June 12, 1963.

He took up a residence with his family at 17 Ω Brook St. in Nashua. He became a motorcycle officer and investigated numerous motor vehicle collisions along his route, which included the F.E. Everett turnpike bypass.

On Aug. 14, 1964, during the early evening hours, while conducting motorcycle patrol on the old Route 3, south of River College and Hayward’s Ice Cream, Officer Graziano was involved in a motor vehicle collision. He was transported to (the former) Nashua Memorial Hospital where he succumbed to injuries sustained during the collision. Officer Graziano was 26 years old at the time. His oldest child, Mark, was just 5 years old.

Officer Graziano was remembered by peers as being a quiet, yet funny guy with a dry wit, which was known to make fellow officers laugh.

Former NPD Officer Bob Barry, who served from 1962-1986, recalled Graziano as a diligent and competent officer with a propensity to complete the tasks at hand.

According to Officer Barry, who worked alongside him, “Graziano was the type of man and officer to come into work, get the job done, and go home to do the work of a family man.”

Officer Barry recalled that Officer Graziano lived on Brook Street with his wife and 3 children.

Officer Barry remembered the late night swims that Officer Graziano would take in Salmon Brook by Fields Grove after working second shift. Barry recalled that on one of those late night swims, third shift officers responded to the park as it was past curfew and complaints were made about him.

When asked about how Officer Graziano acquired the nickname “Rocky,” Barry recalled that he shared the same last name with the popular professional boxer Rocky Graziano. Barry explained that it must have been one of those “roll call” nicknames that just stuck.

Brian Graziano, now of Milford, was 4 years old at the time of his fatherís death. When asked about how he remembers his father, he stated he recalled his father as being a kind and even tempered man.

Brian stated that his grandfather (Anthony) raised Edward with the mindset that you raise a child with love, never a raised hand.

NPD recognizes Aug. 14 as Officer Edward “Rocky” Graziano Memorial Day. This year, the day began with a workout dedicated to Officer Graziano. The day concluded with a visit by the NPD Honor Guard to the location of Officer Grazianoís collision.

Rest in peace, Officer Graziano.

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