James Dugan
James Thomas Dugan was an American writer and war correspondent, born on May 7, 1912, in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1937 and spent much of his career as a freelance writer, contributing to newspapers and magazines. Dugan served in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II, where he worked as a war correspondent for Yank magazine in the European Theater. After the war, he married Ruth Mae Lonergan and settled in Philadelphia.
Dugan was particularly known for his works related to the ocean, collaborating closely with the renowned explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau. He served as the ship's reporter on the Calypso during a National Geographic expedition and authored several influential books, including "The Silent World," which was adapted into an Academy Award-winning documentary. His interest in history also led him to write about World War II, notably "Ploesti: The Great Ground-Air Battle of 1 August, 1943." Dugan passed away on May 31, 1967, in Panama City, Florida, and his legacy includes two Academy Awards for his scriptwriting in oceanic documentaries.
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James Dugan
Nonfiction Writer
- Born: May 7, 1912
- Birthplace: Altoona, Pennsylvania
- Died: May 31, 1967
- Place of death: Panama City, Florida
Biography
James Thomas Dugan was born on May 7, 1912, in Altoona, Pennsylvania. His father, John Henry Dugan, was an iron molder, and his mother, Mary Katherine Hoffman Dugan, was a homemaker. Dugan attended public schools and then studied at Pennsylvania State University. He graduated in 1937. For most of his career he was a freelance writer; he began with newspaper and magazine articles and commercial work. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army Air Force; for part of this time he was a war correspondent for Yank in the European Theater. In 1946, after the war, he married Ruth Mae Lonergan, and they established their home in Philadelphia. Many of Dugan’s first books were about the ocean. He became president of the U.S. Liaison Committee for Oceanographic Research in 1952, was ship’s reporter on the Calypso under Jacques-Yves Cousteau during a 1954-1955 National Geographic expedition to the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, and was an advisor to the Underwater Museum (part of the Philadelphia Maritime Museum) in 1967. He also served as president of the Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences. From these experiences came Dugan’s first book, The Silent World (1953), one of several collaborations with Cousteau, and ten later books, including Undersea Explorer: Story of Captain Cousteau (1957). The Silent World became a feature documentary film in 1956, and Dugan wrote the narration. Another Dugan book about the ocean, World Without Sun (1965) also became a film; again, Dugan wrote the script. Another interest of Dugan’s was history; he was particularly captivated by World War II. His book about an air raid over Romania, Ploesti: The Great Ground-Air Battle of 1 August, 1943 (1962), written with Carroll Stewart, was filmed in 1967. He died on May 31, 1967, in Panama City, Florida, and was buried at sea. Dugan’s script for The Silent World won an Academy Award and an award from the Cannes International Film Festival. His script for World Without Sun also won an Academy Award. Ploesti has been reissued as a paperback, and it is considered one of the most authoritative analyses of its subject.