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Louisiana's Military Heritage:

    Medal of Honor Recipients

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HUGHES, LLOYD HERBERT

 

Organization:

564th Bomber Squadron, 389th Bomber Group, 9th Air Force

U.S. Army Air Corps

Rank:

2nd Lieutenant

Born:

July 12, 1921—Alexandria, LA

Place & Date:

Ploesti Raid, Rumania—August 01, 1943

 

Citation:

 

For conspicuous gallantry in action and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.  On August 1943, 2nd Lt. Hughes served in the capacity of pilot of a heavy bombardment aircraft participating in a long and hazardous minimum-altitude attack against the Axis oil refineries of Ploesti, Rumania,

Medal of Honor--U.S. Army (1904 ~ present)

 

launched from the northern shores of Africa.  Flying in the last formation to attack the target, he arrived in the target area after previous flights had thoroughly alerted the enemy defenses.  Approaching the target through intense and accurate anti-aircraft fire and dense balloon barrages at dangerously low altitude, his plane received several direct hits from both large and small caliber anti-aircraft guns which seriously damaged his aircraft, causing sheets of escaping gasoline to stream from the bomb bay and from the left wing.  This damage was inflicted at a time prior to reaching the target when 2nd Lt. Hughes could have made a forced landing in any of the grain fields readily available at that time.  The target area was blazing with burning oil tanks and damaged refinery installations from which flames leaped high above the bombing level of the formation.

 

 

2nd Lieutenant Lloyd H. Hughes, USAAC

2nd Lieutenant Lloyd H. Hughes, USAAC.

Photo courtesy of Rebecca Ann JORDAN.

With full knowledge of the consequences of entering this blazing inferno when his airplane was profusely leaking gasoline in two separate locations, 2nd Lt. Hughes, motivated only by his high conception of duty which called for the destruction of his assigned target at any cost, did not elect to make a forced landing or turn back from the attack.  Instead, rather than jeopardize the formation and the success of the attack, he unhesitatingly entered the blazing area and dropped his bomb load with great precision.  After successfully bombing the objective, his aircraft emerged from the conflagration with the left wing aflame.  Only then did he attempt a forced landing, but because of the advanced stage of the fire enveloping his aircraft, the plane crashed and was consumed.  By 2nd Lt. Hughes' heroic decision to complete his mission regardless of the consequences in utter disregard of his own life, and by his gallant and valorous execution of this decision, he has rendered a service to our country in the defeat of our enemies which will everlastingly be outstanding in the annals of our Nation's history.

 

Biographical Information:

 

Lloyd Herbert Hughes—known as Pete to family and friends—was the only child of Lloyd Herbert Hughes, Sr., and Mildred Mae Rainey.  Mildred was born in Texas.  Mildred would later marry John Raymond Jordan with whom she would have four more sons.  She and Pete had left Louisiana by this point, as all four of Pete's brothers were born in Texas.  Pete would later graduate from high school in Refugio, Texas.  Though originally thought lost, his Medal of Honor was rediscovered in recent years by one of his brothers and now resides in the collection of the Refugio County Museum.  This biographical information and the photograph shown above were generously provided to us by Lieutenant Hughes' niece, Ms. Rebecca Ann JORDAN.

 

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All information courtesy of the U.S. Army Center of Military History, the Medal of Honor Society,

and the family of Lt. Lloyd H. Hughes.

**Copyright 1997-2007 by Louisiana Naval War Memorial Commission**