John was born on the 2nd of November 1880, in New York City, and he attended the Berkeley School, where he graduated in 1900. He did receive a nomination to the US Military Academy but he failed the entrance exam and since his father had recently died, John’s pursuit of higher education came to a halt. John enlisted in the US Marine Corps on the 7th of November 1900, and a little over a year later was promoted to Corporal and after a year and a half of service, became a Sergeant.

The US Navy was expanding and in need of officers so on the 21st of December 1901, John received a commission to Second Lieutenant and deployed to the Philippines after receiving some brief training in Boston. It was during this deployment that John received the nickname of “Johnny the Hard”, due to behavior that would be described as unbecoming of an officer. Drunken behavior, abusive language, and waking up other officers at 0300 while again drunk. His battalion commander wrote the following in his fitness report:

I regard him as an officer whose intelligence, initiative, and control of men are above average, and possessing to a large degree snap and vim—a driver—but somewhat reckless and careless in matters other than of a military character, and with a disposition towards boisterousness not to my entire approval. If he overcomes this tendency, I think he would make a particularly efficient officer.

John was promoted to First Lieutenant despite his behavior and became known throughout the brigade for his language and for sometimes getting into fist fights with both enlisted and officers. Back in the States, he served as the assistant quartermaster at the Marine Barracks in Boston, as well as the acting commissary officer, before being assigned to the USS Minneapolis and then deploying to Cuba with the 1st Provisional Regiment. In 1908, John was promoted to Captain, despite continued negative fitness reports, before deploying to Guantanamo Bay on board the USS Hancock and Buffalo. This deployment brought his behavior to the attention of the Secretary of the Navy and two months later, John received a five-day punishment for “assumption of authority and insubordination”. The next month, John went AWOL (absent without leave) and received another five-day punishment and in April of 1912, he was confined to his quarters for getting into a fist fight with another officer. John’s behavior had gotten to be such an issue that his commanding officer, Major Smedley Butler (yes, two-time Medal of Honor recipient Smedley Butler), requested that he be arrested and taken home or discharged from the service, calling him a “menace to welfare command”. This request not only went to Major General Commandant William Biddle, but also to Smedley’s father, who was the senior Republican member of the House Naval Affairs Committee, and finally to the Secretary of the Navy. The request was shot down because the accusations had been skewed to make John look worse.

After Cuba, John was sent to Portsmouth, Rhode Island, on restriction, and then prepared for fleet maneuvers in the Philadelphia Navy Yard. These maneuvers took place off the coast of New Orleans in November of 1913 as a test for deployments to Mexico, due to the worsening relations with the country. They then anchored off Culebra, Puerto Rico, for two weeks before heading to Mexico. It was John’s actions there with the 15th Company, 2nd Provisional Regiment, that would later earn him the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:

For distinguished conduct in battle, engagements of Vera Cruz, 21-22 April 1914. Capt. Hughes was in both days' fighting at the head of his company, and was eminent and conspicuous in his conduct, leading his men with skill and courage.

Now, I am on a mission to tell the story of every single Medal of Honor recipient, regardless of their actions, lifestyle, branch, or rank. When researching this story, it was the first time I had come across the information I am about to tell you about, so it is worth mentioning. At the time of this conflict, the legislation allowed for enlisted Army and Navy members, to include Marines, as well as Army officers to receive the Medal of Honor. Navy and Marine officers weren’t included in this legislation until the Mexican Campaign. Congress amended the legislation, and the Department of the Navy took this opportunity to highlight its Navy and Marine officers that participated in the campaign: twenty-eight Naval officers, eighteen enlisted Navy, and nine Marine officers received the Medal of Honor. Not one enlisted Marine received the Medal and this brought Smedley Butler to argue to have the awards withdrawn, to include his own, stating that nothing in his citation warranted the recognition. The Navy dismissed his concerns and while I am not trying to take away the award from those that received it, it may offer an explanation to those that have wondered why the citations are short or vague, and why so many received it.

John received orders once again to report to Portsmouth and another fitness report stated that he was not fit to be a post commander due to his temperament. Despite this, he was put in command of a Marine detachment on board the USS Delaware that deployed to the Dominican Republic in response to civil unrest. When John was up for promotion to Major, his history was again brought up. After fifteen years of service, he had a thick case against him for his behavior and it is unclear how the Secretary of the Navy became involved with the promotion of a Captain. Major General Commandant George Barnett went to bat for John, especially when he received a telegram stating that John had been shot in the left leg while deployed. This wound fractured his femur and caused severe nerve and tissue damage and since Secretary Daniels had been in favor of rewarding those that had seen combat, John’s promotion to Major took place on the 16th of March 1917. It came with a warning from Daniels, however, that John was fully expected to never be charged with drunkenness or harshness to his subordinates again.

John recovered from his wounds and then worked at the Advance Base Force at Philadelphia until the declaration of war on Germany in April of 1917. He transferred to Quantico in preparation to deploy to France. At the time, Brigadier General John Lejeune had basically promised Major Smedley Butler a brigade command position with the American Expeditionary Forces but when the number of troops were reduced, Major General Commandant George Barnett turned down the suggestion of Butler and Lejeune then recommended John for the command of an infantry battalion. John took command of 1st Battalion, 6th Marines and they deployed from Quantico to France on the 23rd of September 1917. In May of 1918, John and his battalion dug into Belleau Wood and were instructed to hold their position at all costs. This battle would have the brigade suffer from a 50% casualty rate, one of the worst in Marine Corps history. For his actions during this battle, John received the Navy Cross and Silver Star, in addition to having his lungs burned with poison gas and later being blown up in the command bunker by an enemy shell. His old leg wound had started to open up and limit his movement and when superiors tried to relieve him and order him home, he was observed asking for a pair of wire cutters and cutting off a piece of bone that was protruding from his leg. John was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in August and went on to earn another Silver Star and two Croix de Guerre for his actions during the War. Colonel Hiram Bearss, a Medal of Honor recipient from 1901, had sent a recommendation for a second Medal of Honor to Commandant Barnett, speaking very highly of John. This recommendation was returned and Bearss was told that it should have been sent through the proper chain of command, and now that too much time had passed, therefore making John ineligible for the award. He returned home to the States to recover, and France would be the last combat, and service, that John would see. He was medically retired on the 3rd of July 1919, after eighteen and half years of service, at the rank of Colonel.

John joined his brothers and worked for the Hughes Trading Company in Manhattan and later moved to Cleveland, Ohio, to work as a salesman for Mack Trucking. He also became the first director of the Ohio Liquor Control Department in 1933 but his war injuries would catch up with him, forcing him to retire to Florida. John Arthur Hughes, also known as “Johnny the Hard”, died on the 25th of May 1942, at the age of 61. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery: Section 8, Lot 5265.