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COLONEL WILLIAM "PAT" GUGIN
Pat Gugin was born 3 May 1932 at Pendleton, Oregon to
Pierce and Maude Campbell Gugin. He attended
school in Pendleton, then graduated from high school at Helix in 1950. Pat
grew up on the family ranch in Juniper where he first volunteered to rope people at Round-Up and Happy
Canyon festivals.
In 1947, Pat enlisted in the Oregon National Guard,
serving with the National Guard until his enlistment in the Air Force. Prior
to enlisting in the Air Force, he was enrolled at Oregon State College for
two years.
Pat served with the Air Force for 32 years, retiring with
the rank of colonel, a rank he held for 12 years. Pat and his wife, Joy,
traveled all over the world before retiring at Pendleton. They had one
daughter, Shawn Marie Bonnie.
Pat was an aviator, flying numerous jet fighters. During
his career he served at 17 different bases in the United States and the Far
East. He served one tour in Korea at the end of the Korean War and two tours
during the Vietnam War.
One
of the accomplishments he was most proud of was the mechanization of Phantom
fighter force. While stationed at Edwards Air Force Base, Pat was involved in
the clandestine serial surveillance program now known as the SR-71 Blackbird.
Pat retired in 1984 and returned to Pendleton with his
family where he resumed his childhood volunteer work with the Pendleton
Round-Up. Restoration and repair of the Round-Up Association's horse drawn
vehicle collection was his primary activity. In 2002, he received the
Director's Appreciation Award, and in 2003 will be inducted into the Round-Up
and Happy Canyon Hall of Fame.
Pat is remembered by his fellow Roadrunners for his role as Assistant Maintenance Officer while a Major assigned to the 1129th Special Activities Squadron at Groom Lake, Nevada during Project Oxcart. Pat and some of his fellow officers are depicted in the Groom Lake photo below as they celebrated the 500th training flight of the A-12 trainer fondly known as the Titanium Goose.
