Roy Elton Hughes was born on March 17, 1921, in Friona, Texas. He was still a boy when the eight years of massive dirt storms began, eventually known as the Dust Bowl. Combined with the Great Depression from 1929 to 1939, life in Parmer County was dire.

But you wouldn’t know it from this beautiful photo of the Hughes family, taken amid those difficult years.

In the early months of 1942, Roy enlisted in the Army Air Force. Following his training, he was assigned to the 343rd Bomber Squadron, 98th Bomber Group, 9th Air Force, Goddard Crew. Roy was the Top Turret Gunner.

On February 22, 1944, the crew boarded their B-24, nicknamed “Miss Fortune”, in Fortunate Cesare, Italy, on a bombing mission to Regensburg, Germany. Their target was a German aircraft production facility. After successfully bombing the facility, “Miss Fortune” was attacked by more than a dozen enemy aircraft. “Miss Fortune” was hit, and the right wing was badly damaged. The aircraft crashed on Dubec Hill near Nepomuk, in the present-day Czech Republic. The Right Waist Gunner was the only survivor, parachuting to safety, but was taken as a POW for the remainder of the war. The book, Miss Fortune’s Last Mission, tells the story of the fateful flight as told to the author by Ray Noury, the survivor.

The residents of Nepomuk established a memorial at the crash site on Dubec Hill to remember the bravery of the crew members of “Miss Fortune.”

As for Staff Sergeant Roy E. Hughes, he was remembered by mates as “the best gunner they had ever seen, cool and quiet in his deadly work, always efficient.” Apart from work, he was well-liked for “talking and always showing up with a smile.” It was also expressed that he loved his family “with all his heart.”

Roy’s father, Buford, was killed in a car accident in 1955. His grave marker may be the best testament to the Hughes family’s deep love for each other: He gave his only son so others may live free.

SSGT Roy Elton Hughes

Murray Malone Bowen