2nd Lt. Lloyd H. Hughes
(Lloyd "Pete" Herbert Hughes, Jr. - 12 Jul 1921 - 1 Aug 1943)

Errata Page

Errors in Print

"Pete's name was Lloyd D. Hughes (sic)." This is false. His family and friends called him Pete, but his full name was Lloyd Herbert Hughes, Jr. (sources: family genealogy, Statement of Military Service, Pete's Medal of Honor, and Pete's grave marker)

The book, Ploesti: The Great Ground-Air Battle of 1 August 1943 by James Dugan and Carroll Stewart (Random House, New York, N.Y., 1962) pages 174 and 234, both have Pete's name as "Lloyd D. Hughes (sic)" as does the Index. I have been told that "Any future editions will be corrected." The corrected version of the Ploesti Roster is available online. (Email received 18 Nov 2007.)
The book, Texas A & M University: A Pictorial History, 1876-1996 by Henry C. Dethloff (Texas A&M University Press, 1996) page 135, has Pete's name as "Lloyd D. Hughes (sic)." I contacted the publisher and received an email from the author apologizing for the error. I have been told that "Any future editions will be corrected." (Email received 23 Jan 2008.)
The book, Down to Two Feet Altitude by James A. Wells (self published, 2008,) page 92, has Pete's name as "Lloyd D. Hughes (sic)." I sent an email to the author about the error and he apologized saying, "I will most definitely correct Pete's full name for any subsequent printings." (Email received 1 Jun 2008.)

The book Ploesti Raid Through the Lens by Roger A. Freeman, has "... Medal of Honor was given to 1st (sic) Lieutenant Lloyd Hughes...." This is false. Uncle Pete was a Second Lieutenant. I emailed the publisher and on 14 Apr 2008 they replied saying, "We will be sure to correct the entry on page 148 when we reprint." (Email received 14 Apr 2008.)

A Case of Bad Judgment - The book, Thinning the Herd: Tales of the Weirdly Departed by Cynthia Ceilan (Lyons Press, 2007) (This book does not deserve a link to it. You can find it manually.) This book is about "weird" deaths. On page 86 is this paragraph about Uncle Pete: "Medal of Honor winner Lloyd Hughes, a B-24 bomber pilot during World War II, managed to destroy enemy oil refineries in Romania even though his plane was severely damaged in the battle. He returned to the base (sic) a hero, but his plane exploded on landing." First off, Medal of Honor recipients are not "winners" and second, Pete did not return to base. Third, the B-24 did not "explode," it was described as "consumed." Finally, what is "weird" about about giving your life for your country? Heroic, yes; worthy of the Medal of Honor, yes; weird, no; disrespectful, yes. I contacted the publishers and editor of this book and told them of the errors. At first they dismissed me, but I am nothing if not persistent. After my second email, I received an apology from the author and this from the editor: "I am sorry that this story was included in the book. You have our assurances that it will be removed from all future printings of the book." Personally, I hope there are not any future printings of this book. (Email received 21 Jan 2008.)

Errors on the Internet

Web site, Texas A&M History - Has Pete's names as "Lloyd D. Hughes (sic)." I emailed the author of the web page in Feb 2008, but have gotten no response. This page will probably never be corrected. (Still in error as of 7 Jun 2008.)
Web forum, TexAgs - Has two messages where the users have Pete's name as "Lloyd D. Hughes (sic)." This is a forum where the entries were added in Feb 2005. In Feb 2008 I emailed the author who had an email address, but have gotten no response. The other message has no contact information. These pages will probably never be corrected. (Still in error as of 7 Jun 2008.)

"There were no survivors (sic)." or "All were killed (sic)." This is false. Of the ten-man crew aboard the plane, four men survived the crash: two died of their wounds soon after, and two survived to become prisoners of war. (sources: Sidney A. Pear, John A. McLoughlin, Edmond H. Smith, Thomas Albert Hoff, and Missing Air Crew Report, page 4)

Web site, The Unofficial Dispatch Archive - Has "All in the plane were killed (sic)." I emailed the webmaster in Nov 2007, but have gotten no response. This page will probably never be corrected. (Still in error as of 7 Jun 2008.)
Web site, Refugio County Press - (Web page keeps moving so enter [ "remembering Pete Hughes" site:refugiocountypress.net ] in Google.) - This page as "Everyone on board was killed (sic)." In Jun 2007 I emailed the author of the article and pointed out the error. While we corresponded back and forth several times, the author never corrected the article. (Still in error as of 7 Jun 2008.)

"The award ceremony was March 5, 1944 (sic)" or "April 19, 1944 (sic)." This is false. The ceremony was on Tuesday, 18 Apr 1944. (sources: Date Set for Awarding Hughes’ Medal of Honor and Nation’s Highest Decoration Given)

The Web site, The Handbook of Texas Online - Has "The posthumous medal was presented to his wife, Mrs. Hazel Hughes, at Kelly Field, San Antonio, on March 5, 1944 (sic)." I personally visited the Texas State Historical Association offices on 24 Mar 2008. They hoped to have Pete's web page corrected soon. (Still in error as of 7 Jun 2008.)
The Web site, Texas State Cemetery - Various bits of information are still wrong on Pete's web page. I personally visited the Texas State Cemetery offices in Jan 2008 and have since provided them with photos, links and my sources. They made some corrections, but they still have April 19, 1944 as the date of the award ceremony which is the date of newspaper article. (Still in error as of 7 Jun 2008.)

"Heroes of War" recording by the Air Force Association - Starts off with "Welcome to 'Heroes of the Air.' True stories of those who flew for America and earned the nation's supreme military award, the Congressional Medal of Honor. 'Heroes of the Air' is brought to you by the Air Force Association …."

The recording refers to “Army Air Corps (sic) 2nd Lt. Lloyd Hughes.” This is false. The U.S. Army Air Corps changed its name to the U.S. Army Air Forces on 20 Jun 1941. Pete was in the U.S. Army Air Forces from 28 Jan 1942 when he enlisted, to his death on 1 Aug 1943. The U.S. Army Air Forces changed its name again on 17 Sep 1947 to the U.S. Air Force.
The recording states that Pete "was piloting a B-17 Flying Fortress. (sic)" This is false. He piloted a B-24 Liberator not a B-17.

Miscellaneous Errors:

"Wall of Honor" memorial in the Harvin Student Center at Del Mar College refers to Pete as a "Student, Athlete, Graduate (sic)." This is false. Pete did not graduate from Del Mar College or Texas A&M University. (sources: personal papers)

Corrections Made

There is no such organization as the "US Army Air Force," however, that is exactly what was engraved on Pete's grave marker. On 4 Dec 2007, a representative of Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery emailed me and admitted their error happened when Pete's replacement grave marker was ordered. (Corrected by 26 May 2008.)

Web site, Air Force Link - Has "All in the plane were killed (sic)." This error is still up in spite of me emailing them several times starting in May 2007. (Corrected by 7 Jun 2008.)

Home of Heroes: The following are errors found on the web page Ploesti - When Heroes Filled the Sky. I emailed the webmaster on 9 Mar 2007 about one error and again on 31 Mar 2008, but the page has not been updated. (All corrected by 7 Jun 2008.)

Pete was "born in Louisiana to Welsh immigrants (sic)." This is false. Admittedly, little or nothing is known about Pete's father, but his mother, Mildred Mae RAINEY was born in Josserand, Trinity County, Texas. Her father, Stephen Marion RAINEY was born in Schley County, Georgia and her mother, Emily Elizabeth JOSSERAND Rainey was born in Montgomery County, Texas. These are hardly "Welsh immigrants." (Corrected by 7 Jun 2008.)
"... in his youth ... Pete moved ... to Corpus Christi..." This is as the very least misleading because it wasn't until after graduating from Refugio High School did Pete leave Refugio. He never considered Corpus Christi "home." (Corrected by 7 Jun 2008.)
Pete "attended Texas A & M for three years (sic)." This is false. Pete entered the Agricultural & Mechanical College of Texas (later Texas A&M) on 20 Sep 1939, possibly attending for a full year. He attended three semesters at Corpus Christi Junior College (later Del Mar College) then went back to Agricultural & Mechanical College of Texas in the fall of 1941. He resigned on 3 Dec 1941 for "Personal Reasons" then enlisted less than two months later. At most, he attended Texas A&M for a year and a half; he definitely did not attend Texas A&M for three years. (source: college transcripts) (Corrected by 7 Jun 2008.)
"Holes sprouted in his right wing tanks (sic)." This is false. According to Pete's Medal of Honor citation, Pete's plane was hit and caused "gasoline to stream from the bomb bay and from the left wing." (Corrected by 7 Jun 2008.)
"Lieutenant Hughes died in the cockpit, along with six of his crew. (sic)" This is false. Of the ten-man crew aboard the plane, a total of six men died in the crash and four men survived. Of the four men who survived the crash, two men died of their wounds soon after, and two men survived to become prisoners of war. (sources: Sidney A. Pear, John A. McLoughlin, Edmond H. Smith, Thomas Albert Hoff, and Missing Air Crew Report, page 4.) (Corrected by 7 Jun 2008.)
"Only Pete's step-brother (sic) James Jordan missed the event." This is an error. Pete had four half-brothers - no step-brothers. (Corrected by 7 Jun 2008.)

Last updated: August 21, 2008

Custom Search

Rajordan

2nd Lt. Lloyd H. Hughes (Lloyd "Pete" Herbert Hughes, Jr. - 12 Jul 1921 - 1 Aug 1943)