Thomas A. Dugan’s grandfathers had been farmers and later oilfield pumpers, as was his father, and Tom grew up wanting to be in the oil business. After graduating from Potwin High School in Kansas, he joined the Army and went to the Philippines as a tank commander. In 1945, while directing a flamethrower tank, he was injured by a mortar shell. He was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star. After his discharge, he attended Eldorado Junior College and then the University of Oklahoma, earning his petroleum engineering degree in 1950. After working for Phillips Petroleum, Dugan opened Dugan Production Corp. in Farmington, N.M., where he still works and lives.
2007
