Date of birth:

May 24th, 1902 (Orange/New Jersey, United States)

Date of death:

July 16th, 1987

Service number:

0-15610

Nationality:

American (1776 - present, Republic)

Augustine Davis Dugan was born in Orange, NJ on May 24, 1902, to Judge Daniel A. Dugan and Anna C. Davis. He came from a large family of four girls and five boys and had his early schooling there in Orange. His eldest brother, Daniel Jr., was killed in action in Nantillois, France in October of 1918 and received the Distinguished Service Cross. “Gus” entered West Point in 1920 and graduated with the Class of 1924. While he was a Cadet, his older brother Paul was a Midshipman at Annapolis. Gus chose Cavalry as his Branch and embarked on a mounted career.
The “Winds of War” were gathering after Germany invaded Poland in September of 1939. After some military schooling, he was sent to Yuma, AZ in 1942 for desert training in preparation for deployment to North Africa. In the fall of 1943, the Old Gray Bonnet Regiment of the Eighth Division was shipped to Northern Ireland to await the invasion of Normandy. His unit went into Normandy at Utah Beach about 25 days after D-Day. He was wounded by mortar fire in the trek across France and was awarded a Combat Infantry Badge, Silver Star and a Purple Heart. He was later was assigned to the 14th Cavalry Group of the 28th Infantry Division – the “Bloody Bucket.” He was the Executive Officer of this lightly armored group which found itself in the path of German Panzers on December 14, 1944, when the Battle of the Bulge commenced. At the Losheim Gap, Poiteau and St. Vith, he rallied his men to delay the advance of the Germans. The Group Commander had retired from the field with “combat fatigue” and Gus had assumed command. For his actions, documented in the book “A Time for Trumpets” by Charles MacDonald, he was awarded the Bronze Star and a Croix de Guerre. After VE Day, Lt. Col. Dugan was assigned to Occupation duties in Germany. After VJ Day, he returned to the U.S. for a brief assignment in Hattiesburg, MS and then he was shipped to Yokohama, Japan to work in Military Government. His wife Dorothy, daughter Beth and son Daniel followed in December 1946 and remained in Yokohama until February, 1949.
From there, it was promotion and assignment to the Recruiting Command in Dallas, TX - then El Paso once again. Gus retired in 1954 and went to UT El Paso to earn a degree in Electrical Engineering. A number of jobs followed in the space industry in Philadelphia and Michoud, LA. Finally, it was retirement for real, back to El Paso, and a busy life of betting on the horses and playing lots of golf. Dad died peacefully in 1987 at William Beaumont from congestive heart failure at the age of 85. When the ambulance came to the house, he walked outside and climbed in. Three days later he was gone, but he also played a round of golf that same week – typical of the Irishman, “Patsy” Gus Dugan.
(Author Jessica Dugan).

Promotions:
July 4th, 1920: Sergeant;
June 12th, 1924: 2nd Lieutenant;
April 20th, 1929: 1st Lieutenant;
August 1st, 1935: Captain;
January 31st, 1941: Major (AUS);
June 12th, 1941: Major;
July 6th, 1942: Lieutenant Colonel (AUS);
June 12th, 1947: Lieutenant Colonel;
March 25th, 1949: Colonel.

Career:
? - 1920: Orange High School;
July 4th, 1920 - June 11th, 1924: U.S. Military Academy West Point;
June 12th, 1924: Troop Officer Fort Binggold, Texas/Fort Riley, Kansas;
1928 - April 20th, 1929: Officer Course, Cavalry School;
April 20th, 1929: Troop Commander Fort Riley, Kansas;
January 2nd, 1931 - April 16th, 1933: Troop Commander Fort Stotsenburg, Philippine Islands;
August 1st, 1935: Troop Commander Fort Bliss, Texas;
January 31st, 1941 - January 6th, 1942: Operations Officer, 2nd Cavalry Brigade, Fort Bliss, Texas;
January 7th, 1942 - May 8th, 1942: S-3, 5th Cavalry;
May 11th, 1942 - November 23rd, 1942: GS-G1, 8th Mechanized Division;
November 24th, 1942 - December 31st, 1942: GSC-G2, Headquarters 8th Mechanized Division;
January 1st, 1943 - February 15th, 1943: GSC-G2, Headquarters 8th Mechanized Cavalry;
February 21st, 1943 - May 14th, 1943: Executive Officer 121st Infantry Regiment;
May 15th, 1943 - July 15th, 1943: Umpire (SO) DTC;
December 5th, 1943 - August 7th, 1945: European Theatre of Operations;
July 16th, 1943 - December 31st, 1943: Executive Officer 121st Infantry Regiment;
January 1st, 1944 - July 18th, 1944: Battalion Commander 121st Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division;
July 19th, 1944 - August 12th, 1944: Patient 182nd General Hospital;
August 26th, 1944 - November 8th, 1944:Battalion Commander 121st Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division;
November 14th, 1944 - December 19th, 1944: Executive Officer 14th Cavalry Group Mechanized.
December 26th, 1944 - February 13th, 1945: Commander, Headquarters Sp. Troops, 28th Division;
February 15th, 1945 - April 16th, 1945: Battalion Commander Headquarters 2nd Battalion, 110th Infantry Regiment;
May 13th, 1945 - September 2nd, 1945: Executive Officer Headquarters 109th Infantry Regiment;
September 3rd, 1945 - October 23rd, 1945: Commanding Officer 109th Infantry Regiment;
October 24th, 1945 - December 6th, 1945: Commanding Officer 112th Infantry Regiment;
December 7th, 1945 - May 19th, 1946: Orient Intruction, Government Occupier Areas;
January 17th, 1946 - April 13th, 1946: TDY, Member Officers Screening Board, Fort Sam Houston, Texas;
July 14th, 1946 - February 11th, 1949: Pacific;
July 23rd, 1946 - June 30th, 1947: Assistant M.G. Officer (Public Finance), 8th Army;
July 1st, 1947 - May 31st, 1948: Public Finance and Civil Prop. Officer, MG Section, 8th Army;
June 1st, 1948 - January 10th, 1949: Public Finance Office;
January 11th, 1949 - February 23rd, 1949: Proc.Lv Reassignment;
February 24th, 1949 - March 14th, 1949: on leaf;
March 15th, 1949 - May 31st, 1949: Executive Officer 4205 ASU, Dallas, Texas;
June 1st, 1949 - May 31st, 1950: 4202 ASU;
June 1st, 1950 - November 30th, 1950: Instructor 4305 ASU;
December 1st, 1950 - January 14th, 1952: 4205 ASU;
January 15th, 1952 - July 31st, 1954: 6510 ASU;
July 31st, 1954: Retirement.

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• Photo 1: Jessica Dugan
• - Find a Grave
  - Home of Heroes
  - The 14th Cavalry Association
  - General Orders No.15, Department of the Army, Washington, 8th March 1949