Alaska Highway. Headquarters, 95th Engineer Regiment and 368th Engineers, European Theater Operations.
Born: 6 November 1908, Lancaster, PA. Died: 4 April 1981, Lancaster, PA. Enlisted: 29 March 1941, Ft. Belvoir, VA and discharged 25 December 1945. Retired from US Army Reserves in 1962.
During the war he served with the 95th Engineer Regiment in Alaska and with the 368th Engineer General Service Regiment in England, Belgium and France. He also served on the General Staff of the Normandy and Chanor Base Sections of the European Theater. He received the Legion of Merit and the French de Guerre medals.
Education: Franklin and Marshall College and Dartmouth College, graduated 1931, degrees physics and mathematics. His father was John L. Gavan, a plumber, and his mother was Anna M. Faltin. He married Katharine Graybill (1910-1988).
Colonel Gavan commanded two Lancaster Army Reserve training units, the 2114th and the 9248th.. He was Director of Civil Defense for Lancaster County in 1954. He was a physicist, engineer and general manager of the physical testing department of Armstrong World Industries, retiring in 1970.
Serial # O-355223