William Dunn Hughes

Their Story

William Dunn Hughes was born on January 30, 1923, in Emmetsburg, Iowa, to Catherine Barbara Dunn and Harry Peter Hughes.¹ As a teenager, Hughes enjoyed boxing and playing baseball. He also excelled in football and basketball while in high school. In 1941, Hughes graduated from Emmetsburg Catholic High School.² After graduating, he worked for J.C. Penney Co. where he had worked while in high school, as well. He was then invited by a friend to move to Detroit to work at Cadillac Motor Company. While working at Cadillac, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and like many other Americans, Hughes quickly returned to Emmetsburg to enlist. Hughes soon joined the Merchant Marines and was sworn into Maritime Service on November 12, 1942. He had also been sworn into the Navy the day before. Afterwards, he left for training at Sheepshead Bay in New York.³

Once he finished his training, Hughes was assigned to his first ship, the George Walton. He was normally assigned to the lifeboats as a deckhand because he had a lifeboat training certificate. After his first trip, Hughes became an able-bodied seaman, and he joined the union. For the remainder of his service, Hughes would report to the Union Hall to be assigned to merchant ships in need of able-bodied seamen.⁴ The merchant ships Hughes worked on carried a wide variety of cargo. In an interview with the Library of Congress, Hughes stated that sometimes the ships would transport troops and take prisoners of war on the trip back to port. On another trip, the cargo was weaponry. While Hughes served, the Merchant Marines were in trouble. Most ships were unable to leave port without being bombed. To fix this problem, the U.S. began using liberty ships. These ships were small and manufactured very quickly. The first ship Hughes was assigned to, the George Walton, was a liberty ship.⁵

On May 14, 1945, Hughes married Mary L. Kelso at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, New York. After being discharged on August 11, 1945,⁶ Hughes and his wife opened Hughes Grocery Store in Davenport, Iowa. The store remained in operation for 18 years. After both Hughes and his wife had retired, they began spending their winters in Florida and spent their summers in Davenport.⁷

On April 14, 2013, William Dunn Hughes passed away at Genesis Medical Center in Davenport, Iowa. His wife, Mary had passed away years earlier in May of 2007. They had been married for almost 63 years. Hughes was survived by his children, grandchildren, and cousins.⁸