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Casualty Info
Last Address Everett, WA
Casualty Date Dec 07, 1941
Cause KIA-Body Not Recovered
Reason Other Explosive Device
Location Hawaii
Conflict World War II/Asiatic-Pacific Theater/Attack on Pearl Harbor
Location of Interment USS Arizona Memorial - Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
Wall/Plot Coordinates (cenotaph)
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
Chief Petty Officer John McHuges was Killed in Action on December 7, 1941, during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was stationed on the USS Arizona BB39.
Comments/Citation:
Service number: 2948351
CWT McHughes beginning service date may not be accurate. It is known that he re-enlisted in 1938; however, information about when he first enlisted is not available.
John Breckenridge McHughes was born July 20, 1902 to James Carroll McHughes and Dollie Moss in Hardeman County, Tennessee. In 1900, his family was living in Bolivar in Hardeman County where his father was a railroad hand. John had a younger sister Effie, and two older brothers Samuel who died in October 100 at age 19 months, and Claude who died in December 1904 at age six. In 1910, his family was living in Michigan, Benton County, Mississippi where his father was a railroad section foreman. His mother died in June 1911 when John was just under 9 years old. In December 1913, his father married Bessie Wicker in Obion, Tennessee. They had two daughters Mary Elizabeth born in 1922 and Shirley born in 1926.
On October 31, 1929, John married Mamie Tidwell. In the 1930 census, he and Mamie were living in Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee where he was a switch tender for the Illinois Central Railroad. Their marriage did not last long and John later married Thelma Eulah Ralls Courter.
Navy records show he enlisted on May 13, 1938, though that may have been the date of a re-enlistment. Mr. McHughes was a watertender and chief petty officer on the U.S.S. Arizona when he was killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.
“Shortly before 08:00 local time on 7 December 1941, Japanese aircraft from six aircraft carriers struck the Pacific Fleet as it lay in port at Pearl Harbor, and wreaked devastation on the warships and installations defending Hawaii. On board Arizona, the ship's air raid alarm went off at about 07:55, and the ship went to general quarters soon after. Shortly after 08:00, 10 Nakajima B5N2 "Kate" torpedo bombers,[46] five each from the carriers Kaga and Hiryū, attacked Arizona. All of the aircraft were carrying 41-centimeter (16.1 in) armor-piercing shells modified into 797-kilogram (1,757 lb) bombs. Flying at an estimated altitude of 3,000 meters (9,800 ft), Kaga's aircraft bombed Arizona from amidships to stern. Soon after, Hiryū's bombers hit the bow area.
“The aircraft scored four hits and three near misses on and around Arizona. The near miss off the port bow is thought to have caused observers to believe that the ship had been torpedoed, although no torpedo damage has been found. The sternmost bomb ricocheted off the face of Turret IV and penetrated the deck to detonate in the captain's pantry, causing a small fire. The next forward most hit was near the port edge of the ship, abreast the mainmast, probably detonating in the area of the anti-torpedo bulkhead. The next bomb struck near the port rear 5-inch AA gun. Arizona's forward magazines explode in a still from a film made during the attack.
“The last bomb hit at 08:06 in the vicinity of Turret II, likely penetrating the armored deck near the magazines located in the forward section of the ship. While not enough of the ship is intact to judge the exact location, its effects are indisputable: about seven seconds after the hit, the forward magazines detonated in a cataclysmic explosion, mostly venting through the sides of the ship and destroying much of the interior structure of the forward part of the ship. This caused the forward turrets and conning tower to collapse downward some 25–30 feet (7.6–9.1 m) and the foremast and funnel to collapse forward, effectively tearing the ship in half.[50] The explosion touched off fierce fires that burned for two days; debris showered down on Ford Island in the vicinity. The blast from this explosion also put out fires on the repair ship Vestal, which was moored alongside.[51] The bombs and subsequent explosion killed 1,177 of the 1,512 crewmen on board at the time, approximately half of the lives lost during the attack.[22]
Arizona burning after the Japanese attack
“Two competing theories have arisen about the cause of the explosion. The first is that the bomb detonated in or near the black-powder magazine used for the ship's saluting guns and catapult charges. This would have detonated first and then ignited the smokeless powdermagazines which were used for the ship's main armament. A 1944 Navy Bureau of Ships report suggests that a hatch leading to the black powder magazine was left open, possibly with flammable materials stocked nearby. The Naval History and Heritage Command explained that black powder might have been stockpiled outside the armored magazine.[52] The alternative explanation is that the bomb penetrated the armored decks and detonated directly inside one of the starboard magazines for the main armament, but smokeless powder is relatively difficult to detonate. Thus the 14-inch powder bags required a black powder pad to quickly ignite the powder. The time elapsed from the bomb hit to the magazine explosion was shorter than experience suggested burning smokeless powder required to explode.[53] It seems unlikely that a definitive answer to this question will ever be found, as the surviving physical evidence is insufficient to determine the cause of the magazine explosion.”
Chief Watertender McHughes was initially declared missing, and later was declared dead while missing. He was awarded a Purple Heart and Combat Action Ribbon. His memory is honored at the Arizona Memorial and at Courts of the Missing, Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii (Memorial ID ). At the time of his death, his wife was a resident of Everett, Snohomish County, Washington. He was awarded a Purple Heart and Combat Action Ribbon. His memory is honored at the USS Arizona Memorial, Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, Hawaii, and Courts f the Missing, Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Thank you, CWTA McHughes, for your service and sacrifice for our freedom!
This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smartphone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story. If you noticed anything missing in this profile, you may contact the author. Click on the author’s name located at the bottom of the story page next to the words “added by.”
