ROBERT G. HUGHES, LCDR, USN
Robert Hughes '67
Lucky Bag
From the 1967 Lucky Bag:
ROBERT GARFIELD HUGHES
Bob seems to be one of the few fortunate individuals who came to the Naval Academy and received no peculiar or funny nickname because of an odd trait. Entering right after high school and coming from a Navy family, Bob was quick to adjust to Academy life. Never one to worry too much about academics, he has been a consistent member of the Superintendent's list and many times a dean's favorite. R.G., as he is sometimes called, tried his hand at squash, and he soon became one of the most consistent players on the varsity court. As always Bob will continue to be an inspiration to those around him. He will without a doubt be successful in his Naval career and anything else he might pursue.
He was also a member of the 5th Battalion staff (fall).
ROBERT GARFIELD HUGHES
Bob seems to be one of the few fortunate individuals who came to the Naval Academy and received no peculiar or funny nickname because of an odd trait. Entering right after high school and coming from a Navy family, Bob was quick to adjust to Academy life. Never one to worry too much about academics, he has been a consistent member of the Superintendent's list and many times a dean's favorite. R.G., as he is sometimes called, tried his hand at squash, and he soon became one of the most consistent players on the varsity court. As always Bob will continue to be an inspiration to those around him. He will without a doubt be successful in his Naval career and anything else he might pursue.
He was also a member of the 5th Battalion staff (fall).
Loss
Robert was lost on January 31, 1979 when the jet aircraft he was piloting collided with another off the coast of Southern California. He was a member of Fighter Squadron (VF) 126.
From Skyhawk.org:
Lt. Bob Hughes and his back seater (VF-121 RIO) Tom Rippinger were killed in a mid-air collision between VF-126 TA-4J (BuNo 154288) and VF-121 F-4J (BuNo 153878, NJ-143.) Serving as an adversary pilot of VF-126, Hughes was leading two Skyhawks in a two-v-two free-flight maneuvering evolution at 25,000 feet off the California coast, near San Diego. The lead Phantom II was being chased in a turn by Hughes in his TA-4J at 25,000 feet when the pilot of VF-121 F-4J BuNo 153858 tried to come to the aid of his leader by allegedly performing an out-of-order "blind lead turn" into his adversary - a maneuver that was strictly prohibited during ACM training. The end result of this turn was that the VF-121 jet collided with the pursuing Skyhawk, rendering the F-4J uncontrollable and forcing the crew to eject. Both men were quickly recovered with minor injuries. Neither the TA-4J or its two crewmen (Hughes and back seater VF-121 RIO Tom Rippinger, who was catching a bonus hop) were found despite a detailed search of the surrounding waters. (via Peter Mersky.)
Other Information
From the April 1979 issue of Shipmate:
The son of RAdm. (USN Ret.) and Mrs. William C. Hughes, he was appointed to the Naval Academy with an at large appointment and graduated with the Class of 1967. Flight training followed and he had served in Kitty Hawk and Franklin D. Roosevelt, including combat service in Vietnam. Among his decorations were the Silver Star Medal and Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross. He was attached to VF-126 at Miramar Naval Air Station at the time of the fatal accident. He had served as an instructor with FITRON 121, and he was serving with FITRON 121 and was designated air combat maneuvering instructor as well as serving as assistant maintenance officer and administrative officer.
In addition to his parents, he is survived by his widow, Sherie, of Poway CA; three children and four brothers including Cdr. William C. Hughes Jr. USN, '63.
From the Class of 1967's 50th Reunion Yearbook, courtesy of William Belden '67:
Bob had large footprints to fill at Navy, as his father was a Rear Admiral and his two older brothers preceded him at USNA. As a student and a varsity squash player, Bob excelled.
On graduation Bob joined the Naval Air community and began his training in Pensacola. He received his wings and flew jets, joining an F4 squadron. He flew two tours in Viet Nam with VF-114 embarked on USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63). During his second tour he shot down a MIG while flying over Viet Nam. His last tour was with VF-51 embarked in USS Roosevelt (CVA- 42). Bob was killed in a service related mid-air collision on Jan 31, 1979 while flying out of NAS Miramar in San Diego. Bob was awarded the Silver Star medal for service to his country.
Bob married Sherie O’Doherty on March 16, 1968 and was the father of three beautiful children, Robyn, Chad and Shawn. Robyn lives in Australia, Chad and Shawn live in Omaha. He was a wonderful husband and father.
Bob enjoyed life as can be evidenced by some of the unusual situations he found himself in while at Navy. He “lost” his father’s car in Philadelphia after the Navy-Notre Dame football game before boarding a bus back to USNA and giving the keys to the OOD.
The truly memorable event of our graduation week was Sherie forming up with our company for the Color Parade in Dress Blue uniform. The battalion commander, Matt “The Hat” Breen, discovered her and removed her from formation. Bob missed the parade, spent his last night at USNA on restriction and he and Sherie missed the final dance. Bob had a big spirit that we all loved, and talent that was limitless. He was a wonderful friend, husband and shipmate.
Bob had survived a March, 1975 crash of a TA-4 jet trainer in the Chocolate Mountain training area near Glamis, CA and Yuma, AZ. He and the other crew member sustained only slight injury. The Palo Verde Valley Times reported that they had baled out before the crash and were picked up by search and rescue after walking to a nearby highway.
Bob is credited with an air-to-air victory over a MiG-21 on May 6, 1972, over Vietnam. He was flying a F-4J Phantom II with Fighter Squadron (VF) 114 from USS Kitty Hawk (CVA 63).
Robert's Find A Grave page is here.
Photographs
From the April 1979 issue of Shipmate.
Photo courtesy of William Belden '67
Silver Star
Bob was awarded the Silver Star for Heroic action on May 6, 1972 approved 5/22/1972 by CINCPACFLT.
Memorial Hall Error
Bob is listed in Memorial Hall as a Lieutenant. However, it seems he was selected for Lieutenant Commander, as this is the rank given in the April 1979 issue of Shipmate and mentioned in various other contemporary sources.
Related Articles
Robert Graff '67 and Robert Tuttle '67 were also in 25th Company.
Barton Creed '67 was also on the 5th Battalion Staff in the Fall.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
