Edmund Earl Hughes III is a Native of New Bern, N.C.  Graduated New Bern High School in 1966 and after two years of college joined the United States Army in June 1968.

He was commissioned an Infantry Second Lieutenant 6 May 1969.  1Lt. Hughes completed Flight School in May 1970 and was assigned to the 116th Assault Helicopter Company (AHC), Chu Lai, South Vietnam (I Corps).  In his twelve months in Viet Nam Captain Hughes accumulated over 1,000 combat hours participating in Operation Lam Son 719, March 1971.

Upon his return to the United States Captain Hughes was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 50th Infantry (Mechanized) as the Battalion S-2 (Intelligence Officer), Commander C Company and as the Battalion S-1 (Personnel).

Captain Hughes returned to aviation as Commander of a UH-1 Instructor Pilot Flight at Fort Rucker, Alabama, accumulating over 1,000 hours as an Instructor Pilot in the UH-1 IP course teaching Contact, Nap of the Earth, Night Vision Goggles and UH-1M Gunnery.

His next assignment was the 12th Aviation Group (Combat), Fort Bragg, N.C. as the Group Flight Detachment Commander.  In 1979 he was assigned to XVIII Airborne Corps as the Corps Aviation Standardization Officer and was promoted to Major in 1980.

Major Hughes’ next assignment was with the 3rd Armored Division, Frankfurt , Germany as the Deputy G-2 (Intelligence), followed by Command of the Division General Support Aviation Company, Hanau, Germany.

He returned to the United States in 1985 and was assigned to the 82d Airborne Division as the Deputy G-2.

In 1987 Major Hughes was promoted to Lieutenant  Colonel (LTC) and was assigned to the 18th Combat Aviation Brigade as the Brigade S-3 (Operations Officer), Brigade Executive Officer followed by Command of Task Force 118 (later flagged as the 4th Squadron 17th Cavalry) conducting security operations in the Persian Gulf for the United States Navy.

LTC Hughes’ last assignment was with the 513th Military Intelligence Brigade, Fort Monmouth, N.J. as the Deputy Brigade Commander.

LTC Hughes retired from the U.S. Army June 1992

After retirement from the Army, he worked for the State of North Carolina Employment Security Commission as a Disabled Veterans Outreach Program Specialist and was then promoted to the position of Local Veterans Employment Representative.

Mr. Hughes retired from the State of North Carolina in 2010.