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: Aggie Medal Of Honor Recipient 2nd Lt. Lloyd H. Hughes ’43 To Be Honored on Mar. 30 - Corps of Cadets Center, Texas A&M University, Bryan College Station, Brazos County, Texas, USA - published 25 Mar 2009.
Aggie Medal Of Honor Recipient 2nd Lt. Lloyd H. Hughes ’43 To Be Honored on Mar. 30
Aggie Medal of Honor recipient 2nd Lt. Lloyd H. "Pete" Hughes ’43 will be honored in a ceremony at the Sanders Corps of Cadets Center on the campus of Texas A&M University at 10 a.m. on Monday, Mar. 30.
Hughes, a former member of the Corps of Cadets—and one of seven Medal of Honor recipients from Texas A&M—was the first Aggie to be awarded the Medal of Honor, posthumously for “gallant action above and beyond the call of duty.” He lost his life while piloting his heavy bomber on a precision minimum-altitude bombing raid on Axis refineries in Ploesti, Romania, on August 1, 1943.
Representatives of the Hughes family and several members of the 389th Bombardment Group will be in attendance as Hughes’ medal will be formally presented to the Sanders Corps Center.
During Operation Tidal Wave, the most highly decorated military mission in U.S. history, 179 B-24s took off on an 18-hour, 2,400 mile round trip mission to destroy the largest of the Nazi-held oil refineries at Ploesti, 30 miles north of Bucharest, Romania. The day would end with five U.S. Air Force Airmen, including 2nd Lt. Lloyd H. "Pete" Hughes, earning the Medal of Honor for bravery; three, including Hughes, posthumously. Fifty-four aircraft never returned. The posthumous Medal of Honor approved on Feb. 26, 1944 was presented to his wife at Kelly Field, San Antonio.
First published: March 31, 2009
Last updated: May 30, 2011
