MADISON — In a ceremony during the April 17 meeting of the Wisconsin Board of Veterans Affairs at the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs headquarters in Madison, Col. John (“Jack”) Rogan, U.S. Army (Retired), a member of St. Bernard Parish in Middleton and a long-time volunteer in Church organizations, was presented the Veteran Lifetime Achievement Award.
The award recognizes living veterans who have compiled a record of exemplary service as a military service member, a veteran, and a citizen during the veteran’s lifetime. Rogan is the seventh recipient of the Veteran Lifetime Achievement Award.
Born in 1926 in New York City, N.Y., and raised in Gortgarn, Northern Ireland, and Elmira, N.Y., he relinquished divinity school deferment to be drafted into the U.S. Army on June 29, 1945, for combat training at Camp Wheeler, Ga.
Following Japan’s surrender, he transferred to the Finance Corps, graduated with honors from Officer Candidate School and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Army Finance Corps in November 1946.
Over the next 25 years, he served as a Finance Disbursing Officer with the Occupation Forces in Tokyo, Japan; an Artillery Battery Commander, Battalion Operations, and Training Officer with the 52nd Artillery Brigade at Fort Hancock, N.J.; the Deputy Director of Finance with the U.S. Civil Administration in Naha, Okinawa; the Finance and Accounting Officer at West Point; the Finance and Accounting Officer and a Senior Staff Officer in the Office of the Comptroller with the 8th Army in Seoul, Korea; and as Director of Settlement Operations at the Army Finance Center at Fort Benjamin Harrison.
He completed his career as the youngest colonel at the Finance Center and in the Finance Corps on July 1, 1970, and was inducted into the Army Finance Corps Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member of the Regiment. He earned many military decorations.
Following his military career, he was the Wisconsin State Finance Director for 13 years, serving five different governors, and served on many state and national boards.
Over the past 38 years, Rogan has been a volunteer with the Catholic Diocese of Madison, serving as a member of the Diocesan Pastoral Council, Diocesan Appeals Committee, Holy Name Seminary Advisory Board, Diocesan Finance Council, Saint Raphael Society Board, Diocesan Corporate Board, and the Diocesan Cemeteries Board. He served a four-year term on the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ National Advisory Council and is a member of the Order of St. Gregory the Great and the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, and he has served St. Bernard Parish in a variety of lay leadership pastoral capacities for many years.
Rogan is a 4th Degree member of the Knights of Columbus. He is a member and past president of the Madison Serra Club and was recognized as Serran of the Year in 2004. He is a member of various military, civic, and professional organizations.
He and his wife, Ann, are the parents of nine children.