John Joseph “Jack” Dugan, IV passed away peacefully in Menard Texas on December 15, 2024. He was 78 years old.
Jack was born the eldest of two to John Joseph, III and Margaret (Gilmartin) Dugan on May 6, 1946. From an early age, he developed his lifelong obsession with firearms. His father, John III worked at the nearby Picatinny Arsenal and would bring technical manuals home for Jack to read. This would lead Jack to be an avid firearm enthusiast, especially in weapons that had been tested at United States Arsenals.
Upon graduation from Boonton High School, Jack began his 58-year career as a federal service employee. He began at the bottom: a GS-1 Forest Fire Technician at the age of 18 in 1964. He would continue in the federal service until his retirement at GS-9 in 2019.
Jack attended Appalachian State and Western Carolina Universities in North Carolina. There he took work as a night security officer and, during summer breaks, at Boy Scout and disabled youth camps teaching rifle marksmanship classes and merit badges.
In 1967, he began working for the National Park Service as a seasonal law enforcement Ranger at Yellowstone National Park. He was particularly proud of his work in law enforcement, and he fondly recalled many stories from his time in that capacity to those close to him. In 1968, he transferred to Morristown National Historic Park, the first National Historic Park in the United States, where he worked as an interpretive ranger and instructor in black powder weapon courses. In 1976, he moved south with the NPS to Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historic Park and remained there until 1987. He was actively involved in advancing military history and living history within the NPS during his service in that agency.
At that time, Jack left the National Park Service to continue his federal service with the Center for Military History’s Army Museum Enterprise at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. There he worked as a museum technician curating collections, constructing exhibits, and working as a living historian with the black powder artillery crews at the historic site and museum. In 2002, he transferred to the 1st Cavalry Division Museum at Fort Hood, Texas working in the same capacity, but now doing living history with a Gatling gun crew at Texas historic forts.
As a firearm enthusiast and technical expert, Jack was often brought in to provide briefings to active-duty soldiers about common enemy weapon systems used in Middle Eastern conflicts. He thoroughly enjoyed this work and often recalled his experiences preparing soldiers for deployments to combat zones. His final assignment with the Center for Military History was as the Curator at the 3rd Cavalry Regiment Museum, also located at Fort Hood, Texas.
Jack retired to Fort McKavett, Texas where he had often trod during his time as a living historian, demonstrating the history of 1870s cavalry troopers on the frontier. He became a member of the Friends of Fort McKavett and worked to contribute to site exhibits, programs, and preservation efforts, continuing his legacy of service in the field of military history education, interpretation, and preservation.
Jack was a voracious reader and constant traveler. His personal library contained many rare and obscure volumes, manuals, and periodicals. The mileage put on his several personal vehicles is too high to recount. His lifelong love of firearms was shared with those closest to him and he exuded this passion to anyone who spent time around him.
Jack was preceded in death by his parents, brother Michael, and close personal friend, Dr. Gretchen Franz. He is survived by his cousin Marie Boynton of New York, close personal friends Terry Tawney of California and Beverly Malcolm of Texas, and surrogate son Kevin Malcolm.
A burial service will be conducted at the Fort McKavett Cemetery at Fort McKavett, Texas on his birthday, May 6, 2025, at 11:30 am with a meal to follow. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to one of Jack’s favorite non-profit organizations in his honor: the National Rifle Association, the Friends of Fort McKavett, the Second Amendment Foundation, or the Sheriff’s Association of Texas.