FORT DOUGLAS — Cannon Park here was dedicated last week to a volunteer who was instrumental in creating it and restoring many of its late-19th century and early 20th century cannons.

Retired Navy Chief Petty Officer Arthur J. Gogan was unable to attend because of a serious illness. Three of his five children, however, were there, including daughter Nanette, who flew in from Chicago.

Gogan has volunteered at the Fort Douglas Military Museum since 1991 and has used his expertise in small arms and military history. Over the years he researched the Army's campaign against American Indians in 1863 at the Bear River and has prepared a lecture that he has given yearly to ROTC students in Utah on the battle.

Gogan grew up in Massachusetts and joined the Navy in 1954. He eventually joined the submarine service and served on the USS Nautilus, the Navy's first nuclear-powered sub, and spent the next seven years underwater. He spent many exciting times in the North Sea and off the coast of Murmansk in submarine spy missions during the cold war.

While engaged in anti-submarine warfare training exercises with the aircraft carrier USS Essex, northeast of Bermuda, in some of the deepest parts of the Atlantic, the sub's navigator made an error that placed the sub directly in the path of the Essex. At 40,000 tons, the Essex hit the Nautilus and removed a sizeable portion of the sub's sail, and it was a bit unnerving, Gogan said, to her the skipper order the sub down.

"Trust me, when you are fifty feet down, the bottom is two miles down, the ocean is rushing in and the lights are struggling to stay lit, your 'pucker factor' is screaming 'take her up!' With Essex's four screws coming along 900 feet after her bow, going deeper was the best course of action." Gogan said.

Gogan's knowledge of metallurgy provided him with the skills to restore numerous vehicles and artillery pieces now on display in Cannon Park. He was also key in acquiring the World War I caisson and limber on display in the park.

Museum officials lauded Gogan for his hard work and expertise in acquiring artifacts from collectors and other museums.

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E-mail: lweist@desnews.com