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<em>JAMES RENWICK HUGHES</em> was born in Topeka, Kansas on 28 December 1911, the son of Brigadier General James Clark Hughes (USA) and his wife Mabel. Jim graduated from Pacific Grove High School, California in 1930 and that summer won the VFW’s award as the best CMTC cadet in the Monterey Peninsula. He was appointed to the Academy from Kansas, where his father was the Adjutant General of the National Guard, and entered West Point in July 1932.</p>
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After surviving Beast Barracks, Jim was fortunate enough to be assigned to Company E, a “laid-back” group, who had their own ideas about being cadets under the watchful eyes of much-admired “Tac,” Captain “Pee Willie” Cole. Within its ranks, the company could boast eight Corps Squad captains, an unchallenged achievement. Jim wasn’t truly a Goat—he simply wanted to be one. For example, he did not stand high in foreign languages, yet, a few years after graduation, he became fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, French and Arabic, serving with distinction in important military attache positions.</p>
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Jim would have preferred the cavalry but ended up in the infantry, his first assignment being with the 30th Infantry, Presidio of San Francisco, California, until he reported to the 65th Infantry at “El Moro” Castle (later named Fort Brook) in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he served until June 1939. During this period, he met and fell in love with Sonia Babcock, the daughter of a prominent physician in San Juan. They were married at the Santa Iglesia Cathedral of San Juan on 31 December 1937. She was the light of his life until she passed away in 1985.</p>
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In the summer of 1939, Jim attended the regular course at The Infantry School. With the outbreak of war in Europe that fall, however, the course was cut short and in February 1940, Jim was assigned to the 68th Infantry at Fort Benning until July 1940, when he was detailed in his favorite branch, the cavalry, and assigned to the 67th Armored Regiment at Fort Knox, Kentucky.</p>
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In the spring of 1941, the Hughes family moved to Rio de Janeiro, where Jim became the assistant military attache. After Pearl Harbor, when Brazil declined to declare war against the Axis, the senior US military attache was recalled, leaving Jim to handle the sensitive situation. This he did with skill and aplomb until mid-1943, when he returned to the United States as a major to become the executive officer of the 9th Armored Group at Fort Knox, Kentucky.</p>
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Although Jim had been detailed to serve with armor, his basic branch had remained infantry. In the fall of 1944, Jim was assigned to the 28th Infantry Division, which had already seen action in France. Now a lieutenant colonel, Jim was given command of the 2nd Battalion, 110th Infantry in Luxembourg, where the division held a 25-mile front along the Our River, a sector which allied intelligence mistakenly believed to be “quiet.” On 16 December 1944, well before dawn, three Panzer and three Grenadier Guard divisions struck Jim’s battalion, which was greatly over-extended across a six-mile front. His men fought well but were overwhelmed; only remnants of his battalion escaped capture. Jim almost made it but was taken prisoner on 19 December near Compogne, Belgium, only two miles from the nearest allied positions around Bastogne. For his bravery, Jim was awarded the Bronze Star Medal. In the spring of 1945, Jim and his fellow Americans were liberated in eastern Germany by advancing Russian troops. Jim came home for some well-earned “rest and recuperation” in the latter part of 1945.</p>
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Following an assignment with Headquarters Sixth Army in San Francisco and a language course at Monterey, California, Jim returned to the intelligence field. In mid-1947, he was posted as the military attache to Costa Rica, at the time under the heel of dictator General Rene Picado. But the opposition leader, Jose (Pepe) Figueres, succeeded in liberating the country in the spring of 1948. Hughes played a key role in this revolution by giving unofficial, but vital, military advice to Figueres, who went on to lead Costa Rica to its present position as the foremost democracy in Central America. When Lieutenant Colonel Hughes departed Costa Rica in 1949, President Figueres publicly recognized him with a special gold medal for his contributions to Costa Rican freedom.</p>
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Meanwhile, having formally transferred from Infantry to Armor, Hughes was posted as the G-2 of the Armored Center, Fort Knox, Kentucky in 1949-1950. A three-year tour at Headquarters, Army Field Forces, Fort Monroe, Virginia followed in 1950-1953, after which Jim again demonstrated his military-diplomatic talents as the US Military Attache to Morocco during 1954-1957. In 1957 he returned to Fort Knox to serve on the faculty of the Armored School. Jim, now a colonel, decided to retire with 21 years service. The years had taken their toll, and it was time to devote himself to Sonia and their children.</p>
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In retirement, Jim served as a consultant for Interamerican Engineers, Inc. with headquarters in San Juan, Puerto Rico, a job which kept him busy and reasonably satisfied. In 1966, he and Sonia moved to West Palm Beach, Florida, where Jim could devote his time to other pursuits. He was a gifted naturalist and artist; his exquisite, colored drawings of American birds in their natural habitat are of Audubon quality.</p>
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He was a talented author and poet. His pen name was “Jamiz Ughiz Nizzam,” the first two words being readily recognizable, while the last is the word for warrior, or soldier, used by the ancient Persian poets. In Jim’s view, the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam was the ultimate of all poetry, and he strived to emulate this incomparable work. For his own work, called “Petals from a Persian Garden,” he has been called the American Fitzgerald.</p>
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He was an active ham radio operator and maintained his standing in the amateur radio community. Finally, he was a member of Mensa, an organization of men and women with special intellectual abilities.</p>
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A year after Sonia passed away, Jim attended his 50th Reunion and renewed old ties with his classmates, especially those from “E Co.” Jim deeply loved his Alma Mater. In his last few years at West Palm Beach, his failing health confined him to his home, but he managed to keep in close touch with his classmates and friends, remaining cheerful with his special sense of humor and never complaining. He died peacefully on 9 July 1993.</p>
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He is survived by three daughters: Sandra Temple-Reston of Tiburon, California, Nancy Alicia Hughes and Mardi Hughes, both of West Palm Beach, Florida; and a son, James Babcock Hughes of Chile. Also surviving are his sister, Mrs. Paul (Peggy) Ryan of Los Altos, California; his brother, William R. Hughes (USMA 1942), of Louisville, Kentucky; three grandsons; and one granddaughter.</p>
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Jim and Sonia were interred with honors on 6 October 1993 in Arlington National Cemetery very near the grave of his parents. Rest well, old friend—you have earned it!</p>
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<em>—Bruce Palmer, Jr. ’36</em></p>