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: Medal of Honor Ceremony for 2nd Lt. "Pete" Hughes'43 - Texas Aggie Corps of Cadets Association
Medal of Honor Ceremony for 2nd Lt. "Pete" Hughes'43
AGGIE MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENT 2nd LT. LLOYD H. "PETE"
HUGHES ’43 TO BE
HONORED IN A CEREMONY AT THE
SAM HOUSTON SANDERS CORPS OF CADETS CENTER
AT 10 A.M. ON MONDAY, MARCH 30
Representatives of the Hughes family and several members of
the
389th Bombardment Group to be in attendance
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, March 30.
Lt. 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 receive the Medal of Honor, posthumously for "...gallant action above and beyond the call of duty." He lost his life while piloting his B-24 Liberator heavy bomber on a precision minimum-altitude bombing raid on Axis refineries in Steaua Romana oil refineries at Campina, 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 Sam Houston Sanders Corps Center.
During Operation Tidal Wave, the most highly decorated military mission in U.S. aviation history, 178 B-24s flew 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 February 26, 1944 was presented to his wife at Kelly Field, San Antonio, TX.
Notes:
- Includes an image from the ceremony of two of Pete's brothers and the widow of one of Pete's brothers.
- Includes a video of the ceremony entitled Lt. Pete Hughes '43 Medal of Honor Presentation to the Corps Center.
- Credits go to Valerie Blakey and the Texas Aggie Corps of Cadets Association.
First published: April 02, 2009
Last updated: January 02, 2010
