Major General
Everett S. Hughes

Major General Everett S. HughesEverett Strait Hughes was born in Ipswich, South Dakota, on 21 October 1885, and received his early schooling there and in Mankato, Minnesota. He was admitted to West Point, where he became a close friend and classmate of George S. Patton, who later graduated with the Class of 1909. Graduating 13th in his class of 108 members in June 1908, Hughes was at first detailed to the field artillery, and spent his first year following graduation as an instructor at the Academy. Short tours at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, and Fort Sam Houston, Texas, followed. In 1911, Hughes was detailed to Ordnance as a first lieutenant. Following completion of the course at the Ordnance School of Technology, Watertown Arsenal, Massachusetts, Hughes completed a tour at the Manila Ordnance Depot in the Philippine Islands. Promoted to captain in 1913, he later served in Texas with the Fourth Field Artillery and in 1916, was made Ordnance Officer for the Mexican Punitive Expedition under the command of Brigadier General John Pershing.

On his return from Mexico, Hughes was briefly commanding officer of the Ordnance Depot at Harlingen, Texas before travelling to Washington for his first tour of duty with the Office, Chief of Ordnance in Washington. There he served as Chief of the Artillery Section of the Procurement Section before undertaking an assignment in October 1918 as a temporary colonel with the American Expeditionary Forces Headquarters in Tours, France. Returning to the States, he was first a member of the War Claims Board in Chicago and then transferred to Fort Sheridan, Illinois, as Sixth Corps Ordnance Officer. He reverted to his substantive rank of captain, but by 1920 had been promoted to major. From 1921 to 1923, Hughes completed studies first in the School of the Line and then the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He stayed on four additional years as an instructor in the Command and General Staff School, until 1927. He was then a student once more, completing the Army War College course in 1928 before joining the Personnel Division at the War Department for a four year tour which ended in 1932. He came to Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, in that year as a lieutenant colonel in charge of the Proof Department, remaining until transferred in 1935 to Picatinny Arsenal, Dover, New Jersey, as Chief of the Manufacturing Division.

In 1939, Hughes returned to Washington as Executive Assistant to the Chief of the Field Service Division in the Office of the Chief of Ordnance. A year later, as a colonel, he moved over to a new assignment as Chief of the Equipment Division, Field Service, remaining there until early in 1942, when he was sent to England as Chief Ordnance Officer for the European Theatre of Operations. After several months in that post ( he was by then a brigadier general), Hughes was designated Chief of Staff, Service of Supply in July 1942. One month later, he was made Deputy to the Chief Administrative Officer planning the invasion of North Africa.

In November 1942, General Hughes was named Chief of Staff of the European Theatre of Operations. By February 1943, Hughes had been named Deputy Theatre Commander for the North African Theatre, where he was closely associated with General Patton, but a year later, was called to London at General Eisenhower's request to become the latter's special assistant. General Hughes, though officially designated Chief of Staff to General Patton, was in-effect to serve as Eisenhower's unofficial "eyes and ears." He was later appointed Inspector General of U.S. Forces in the Europea n Theatre before being called back to Washington in February 1946, as Acting Chief of Ordnance.

General Hughes was named Chief of Ordnance in June 1946. During General Hughes' tenure, the normal peacetime activities, including research, development, storage, maintenance, and training, continued at higher levels than had obtained prior to World War II. An excellent administrator, General Hughes improved the efficiency of his office and effected various organizational improvements. The facilities at the Ballistic Research Laboratory at Aberdeen Proving Ground were expanded, the Terminal Ballistics Laboratory was completed in 1949, and White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico became an important installation for rocket and missile testing. Studies were made on the wartime German V-2 rocket, and in July 1949, Redstone Arsenal in Alabama was given the mission of conducting research, development, and testing of free rockets, solid propellants, and related items.

Construction of the ENIAC, the world's first electronic computer, was completed in part under civil auspices at the University of Pennsylvania in 1946 and became operational at Aberdeen Proving Ground in August 1947. The seven manufacturing arsenals continued to play a major role in the development of the new designs in ordnance materiel and in the improvement of existing equipment. The Ordnance Department continued to operate its Ordnance Districts and Depots and to emphasize training of personnel. General Hughes retired at the end of October, 1949. He died at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington on 5 September 1957, at the age of 71.