The Early Years
(12 Jul 1921 -
27 Jan 1942)
Army Air Forces
(28 Jan 1942 -
1 Aug 1943)
Post Ploesti
(2 Aug 1943 -
Present)
Official MOH Citations:
2nd Lt. Lloyd H. Hughes
(Lloyd "Pete" Herbert Hughes, Jr. - 12 Jul 1921 - 1 Aug 1943)
Source: Personal papers. Newspaper article from Page 1 of The Abilene Reporter-News, Abilene, Taylor County, Texas, USA, dated Monday Evening, 22 Apr 1946.
Gen. 'Ike' Honors Aggie Fighting Men
General Dwight D. Eisenhower told 10,000 Texas A. & M. exes and visitors here at the Aggie Easter Memorial Muster that a more profitable employment should be made of the Reserve Officers Training corps than mere success in battle.
"Must we admit that only the compulsion of a common, deadly fear can produce the teamwork that is as necessary to the peaceful concert of peoples as it is to batter and crush a stubborn foe?" he asked.
He cited the "magnificent contribution" of A. & M. toward the allied victory in 1945. The college furnished more than 7,000 officers, more than any other college in the nation. He solemnly paid tribute to Aggie war dead - 696 in the last war and 52 in World War 1.
"I can feel only lasting admiration for the Texas A. & M. R. O. T. C.," he said. "This admiration extends to the individual as well as to the institution that produced you."
In closing he said the R. O. T. C. graduate "is one of the great hopes of this nation - of civilization itself."
The Memorial Muster was a solemn climax to the Aggie three-day victory homecoming.
The Muster was one of the many being held throughout the nation and the world to honor Aggie students and exes who died on the battlefield.
Dr. John Ashton of the college gave the traditional roll call for the absent. A bugler sounded silver taps, as he called out four names, former Texas Aggies awarded the Medal of Honor - posthumously.
Lt. Thomas W. Fowler, Wichita Falls, Tex.
Lt. Lloyd H. Hughes, Corpus Christi, Tex.
S-Sgt. George D. Keathley, Lamesa, Tex.
Lt. Turney W. Leonard, Dallas.
As each name was called comrades answered, "here!"
The ritual was symbolic of an entire roll call of war dead.
John W. Newton of Beaumont dismissed the muster until April 21, 1947.
Note: Article included photograph of Sgt. George D. Keathley.
First published: July 17, 2008
Last updated: May 30, 2011
