JFK Assassination Figure. An Air Force Brigadier General, he was serving as President Kennedy's military aide on November 22, 1963, and had charge of transporting JFK's body from Dallas back to Washington. The child of American parents, he graduated from the University of Paris in 1929, lived in California for a time, and worked for a Texas oil company prior to joining the U.S. Army Air Corps at the begining of World War II. McHugh held a number of administrative postings and from 1948 until 1953 was aide to Air Force Chief of Staff General Hoyt Vandenburg. He graduated from the National War College in 1954, reportedly dated Jackie Bouvier, the future Jackie Kennedy, and in 1961 was made Air Force aide to President Kennedy and promoted to Brigadier General. On November 22, 1963, McHugh was riding in the motorcade; after the President was killed he accompanied the body to Air Force One and stood guard over the casket until the plane reached Andrews AFB. He retired from the service in 1964; in a 1978 interview that was not published until 2009 McHugh stated that while waiting for Air Force One to take-off from Dallas he searched for Lyndon Johnson in order to determine the reason for the delay and found the new President "cowering and crying" in one of the craft's restrooms. Nobody else witnessed this scene and the General never revealed his reasons for not speaking earlier. McHugh relocated to Florida in 1986 and lived out his days there; his decorations include the Legion of Merit and numerous foreign medals.
JFK Assassination Figure. An Air Force Brigadier General, he was serving as President Kennedy's military aide on November 22, 1963, and had charge of transporting JFK's body from Dallas back to Washington. The child of American parents, he graduated from the University of Paris in 1929, lived in California for a time, and worked for a Texas oil company prior to joining the U.S. Army Air Corps at the begining of World War II. McHugh held a number of administrative postings and from 1948 until 1953 was aide to Air Force Chief of Staff General Hoyt Vandenburg. He graduated from the National War College in 1954, reportedly dated Jackie Bouvier, the future Jackie Kennedy, and in 1961 was made Air Force aide to President Kennedy and promoted to Brigadier General. On November 22, 1963, McHugh was riding in the motorcade; after the President was killed he accompanied the body to Air Force One and stood guard over the casket until the plane reached Andrews AFB. He retired from the service in 1964; in a 1978 interview that was not published until 2009 McHugh stated that while waiting for Air Force One to take-off from Dallas he searched for Lyndon Johnson in order to determine the reason for the delay and found the new President "cowering and crying" in one of the craft's restrooms. Nobody else witnessed this scene and the General never revealed his reasons for not speaking earlier. McHugh relocated to Florida in 1986 and lived out his days there; his decorations include the Legion of Merit and numerous foreign medals.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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