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 3 of The Battalion, College Station, Brazos County, Texas, USA, dated Tuesday, 4 Mar 1969.
A&M Renames Dorms For Medal Winners
Dr. Eli L. Whiteley, his family and the families of A&M’s five other medal of Honor winners were special guest Saturday for Military Weekend activities which included renaming six dormitories in honor of the World War II heroes.
More than 50 members of the six medal of Honor recipients’ families joined in the observance, including some relatives from as far away as California.
Whiteley, associate professor of Agronomy here, is the sole surviving recipient of the nation’s highest honor. He is a native of Georgetown and a 1942 graduate.
William G. Harrell, 1943 graduate from Mercedes, survived World War II but died in 1963 (sic - 1964).
The awards were made posthumously to Lloyd H. Hughes, 1943 graduate (sic - class of 1943) from Corpus Christi, George D. Keathley, Olney, 1937; Turney W. Leonard, Dallas, 1942; and Thomas W. Fowler, Wichita Falls, 1943.
"It’s a great honor to have one of the A&M dormitories named after me." noted Dr. Whiteley, "and I think all the families, including my own, are extremely proud the university has done this."
"If the young men who live in these dormitories could realize the sacrifices that these other Medal of Honor winners made, I think it would influence them in the way they conduct themselves, both here on campus and in the future." Whiteley observed.
Among the honorees were the widows of two of the men, Mrs. Inez Keathley of Wichita Falls and Mrs. Olive C. Harrell of San Antonio.
The group was honored at the Corps of Cadet’s first full-scale review of the year and then taken to the dormitory areas, where they visited the facilities named in their honor.
Three of the halls, Whiteley, Leonard and Harrell, are located in the corps area, while the others are on the opposite side of the campus and house civilian students.
Corrections:
- William George Harrell died on 9 Aug 1964 in Bexar County, Texas, USA, not in 1963.
- Pete was in the Texas A&M Class of 1943, but did not graduate.
Note: There were seven Aggies who were awarded the Medal of Honor in World War II. Missing from this article is Horace Seaver Carswell, Jr.
First published: January 13, 2002
Last updated: May 30, 2011
