JOHN NELSON HUGHES Navy Rear Admiral John Nelson Hughes, 79, a Navy rear admiral who was awarded a Navy Cross for heroism in combat against the Japanese during World War II, died of pulmonary arrest, Alzheimer's disease and cancer Oct. 22 at Potomac Valley Nursing Center in Rockville. Adm. Hughes retired from the Navy in 1959 as comptroller of the Navy's Bureau of Personnel after 32 years of service. A resident of Bethesda, he was born in Columbia, Mo., and grew up in Ames, Iowa. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1931. Pre-World War II duty included service aboard ships based at Long Beach, Calif., study at the University of Mexico in Mexico City and teaching Spanish at the Naval Academy. He was awarded a Navy Cross, the Navy's highest decoration for gallantry after the Medal of Honor, for action in combat against the Japanese in the Baedong Straits off the island of Bali in the Netherlands East Indies on Feb. 19-20, 1942. "Under heavy fire from enemy Japanese cruisers and destroyers, then Lt. Hughes delivered well-directed and gallant attacks by gun and torpedo fire against a vastly superior force of enemy vessels, scoring several hits which damaged target ships and silenced their fire," the citation accompanying the award said. Later in the war, Adm. Hughes served in the North Atlantic on destroyer patrols against German submarines and in the Mediterranean, where he participated in landing operations on Corsica and Italy. He was commander of a mine sweeper squadron in the North China Sea during the Korean War. Later he commanded a reactivated naval training facility in San Diego, then was posted in Washington, where in 1954 he received a master's degree in business administration at George Washington University. After a final sea command in the Pacific, he returned to Washington, where he served as comptroller of the Bureau of Personnel until retirement. Adm. Hughes's decorations also included the Legion of Merit and two Bronze Stars. In retirement he had been secretary of the American Pharmaceutical Society, a math teacher at Bullis School and chief accountant at Thomas Cook Travel in Washington until retiring again in 1975. Survivors include his wife of 42 years, Elizabeth Wilson Hughes, and two sons, Hugh J.H. Hughes and George W.W. Hughes, all of Bethesda; a brother, Daniel E. Hughes of Arlington, and a sister, Alice Hughes Missildine of Columbus, Ohio.
Contributor: mary (50227911)