USNA Class of 1949, Lieutenant Junior Grade Hughes was the pilot of a F4U-4 Corsair fighter with Fighter Squadron 821 aboard the carrier USS Princeton (CV-37). On 9 August 1951 at CU 520395, his aircraft was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire, crashed and exploded. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Hughes was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.