VFW Post Commander William Hughes Named 'All American'

There’s a statue of a soldier tucked into the greenery alongside the front porch of William Hughes’s Hampton Bays house — a gift, Hughes explained, from the widow of a friend, a World War II veteran.

The friend was in the state veterans’ home and suffering from dementia, and couldn’t even remember his wife.

“But,” said Hughes, “when I visited him, and I put this on,” he said, displaying his Veterans of Foreign Wars commander’s hat, “he’d remember.”

That’s the type of care and community commitment that’s earned Hughes, 71, “All American” status as commander of the Dayton Soehike Ohlhors VFW Post 5350 in Westhampton.

Deemed by the national VFW officials a “Legacy Life” member, Hughes was one of only 270 post commanders out of some 6,000 posts worldwide to attain the honor, one he’s received “five or six times,” he said. He’s been commander of the post for a dozen years.

Attributes that earn the distinction include exceptional leadership, authentic accomplishment in membership growth and strong support of VFW core programs.

Hughes joined the VFW soon after he was discharged from the Air Force and arrived in Hampton Bays from his native Queens. A Vietnam vet, he served with an elite team of pararescuemen predominantly in Cambodia and Laos.

“Our primary focus was rescuing pilots who were shot down behind enemy lines,” Hughes explained. “It’s not a traditional job. We jump into the ocean at night.”

One daring mission performed by PJs, as they’re known, was memorialized in “The Perfect Storm.” A friend and classmate he went over there with “still sleeps in Cambodia,” his remains never located.

Speaking on Thursday, Hughes reported working on the committee hosting a carnival in Hampton Bays for developmentally disabled children through the Knights of Columbus and Hampton Bays Fire Department and alongside area Boy Scouts. “We’ve been doing it for years,” he said. He’s a member of the Knights of Columbus, as well as devoting time to the VFW.

Hughes hasn’t slowed since his retirement from the Southampton Town Police Department in 2010.

Asked to describe his favorite VFW efforts, Hughes spoke of the “Voice of Democracy” worldwide. Established in 1947, the Voice of Democracy audio-essay program provides high school students with the unique opportunity to express themselves through a democratic and patriotic-themed recorded essay.

Each year, nearly 25,000 students in grades 9 to 12 from across the country enter to win their share of more than $2 million in educational scholarships and incentives.

Hughes chaired the program for New York State last year, and assembled a blue ribbon panel to judge entries. He was pleased to report a New Yorker, and fellow Long Islander, Daniela Mare, a junior at Sachem High School North in Lake Ronkonkoma, took top honors.

“I was absolutely thrilled — you’d think it was my own daughter,” Hughes said. “When you see all the students, we honor them, write a check to them and give them a certificate. And the family is proud and the school is proud — it’s stuff like that that makes you come back.”

“Commander Hughes has been a tireless advocate for not only veterans affairs but for the education and support of our kids, as well,” praised Hampton Bays School Superintendent Lars Clemensen. “His work with us on the annual national student essay contests, Voice of Democracy and Patriots Pen, has not only resulted in a number of regional and state winners but also a schoolwide education on patriotism, democracy and our rights and responsibilities as Americans.

“Proud of a stranger’s accomplishment, he’s humble about his own achievements,” he added.

The recognition he received, Hughes said, “It’s more about the post than me individually.”

Clemensen knew he’d share the honor with his post colleagues: “Congratulations to Billy on this deserved honor, which I know he accepts on behalf of his comrades in the post, as well.”

Hughes credited the size of the membership: It’s the biggest post in Suffolk County, with 370 members.

“People say, ‘How do you do that, you’re out on the East End, how do you get the biggest membership?’ [It’s] because we’re very proactive,” he said. “Men and women realize the good things we do, things we do in the community for the military, veterans and the youth of the community. They realize you’re actually doing good, and realize it’s not that old school vision of old-timers sitting around a gin mill drinking Rheingold, Fleischmann’s and smoking Camels. It’s not that. Once people realize the good things we do, and they actually see it, they say, ‘Okay.’”

Beyond the Voice of Democracy program, the local VFW holds raffles, hosts an annual poppy drive, a turkey trot, Valentine’s Day luncheon for veterans, the Patriot’s Pen essay contest for junior high students, toy distribution during the holidays, plus an annual golf outing.

The money made from events, said Hughes, “We flip that money into the community for a relief fund, scholarships for the students. If we see a need that we can do, we try to do it.”

He said his wife, Linda, is “extremely supportive.” She makes quilts for the VFW and other community organizations to use in raffles. “She makes really beautiful stuff — it’s like artwork,” he said.

The post is home for veterans of “all generations,” Hughes said, including some who served in World War II. “We’re all volunteers,” he emphasized.

Hughes was a reservist with the 106th Rescue Wing after his discharge from active duty in 1975. “They were starting the rescue unit and I saw something in the reservist magazine and I called up and they said, ‘We’ve been looking all over for you. Come out here and speak to us.’”

His skills as a pararescueman were in demand. He served full- and part-time as a pararescueman from 1969 until 1991.

Those years are still appreciated.

Major Michael O’Hagan, the public information officer for the 106th Rescue Wing stationed at Francis S. Gabreski Airport in Westhampton, had high praise for his friend.

“Not a bit surprised to hear of Billy Hughes’s latest achievement,” he said. “Billy is a retired PJ from our 106th family and an incredible difference-maker for our service members and the community. We are lucky to have him and grateful for all he does.”

O’Hagan noted that the VFW post, located down the road from the Rescue Wing, is a welcoming “home away from home” for reservists.

“Commanders like William Hughes are a fine example of VFW leadership and it’s their hard work and dedication to the mission and values of our organization that has rightly earned them this great honor,” said VFW Membership Director Rick Butler, in a release announcing the honor.

The nation’s oldest and largest major war veterans’ organization, the VFW was founded in 1899. There are more than 1.5 million VFW and auxiliary members worldwide. It’s motto is “No one does more for veterans.”