William B. Hughes was born in April 1927 in Nashville, Tennessee. Nashville was a country town at that time. His father had a hard time making ends meet for his family with six children. They had to rent and move frequently. Vendors went up and down the street selling their wares. Everyone in the neighborhood was poor but did not realize it. Hughes attended school and was in the seventh grade when the war was going on. His older brother was drafted. When his brother returned home in his uniform, Hughes decided that he wanted to follow his lead and become a soldier. School no longer interested him. He dropped out after the eighth grade. He ran away from home even though he was not in any trouble. He went to New York City where he saw the big ships. He then went on to Portland, Maine to go to work in a defense factory. He would work a few weeks and after getting some money in his pockets, he left for another location. At the age of 17, he signed up for the Merchant Marines despite his mother's objection. His father signed the paperwork allowing him to join.

William B. Hughes was sent to Merchant Marine boot camp in St. Petersburg, Florida. Afterward, he went to New Orleans where he boarded his first ship. He sailed out of the Mississippi River delta and reached the Gulf of Mexico. He went up on deck after awaking, but no one was around. It looked like a ghost ship to him. That was the first time he could not see any land. Hughes spotted some porpoises and thought they were sharks. A Navy gun crew was on the freighter. He alerted the crew, but they kidded him for being a hillbilly and not knowing what a real shark looked like. They voyaged to Belize, or British Honduras as it was known then. They loaded mahogany logs on the ship. When the crew departed the ship in order to go to the coast, they had to bail out the small boat to prevent it from being swamped. When Hughes reached shore, a native girl approached him with extended arms. Hughes brought her back to her mother. The locals followed the sailors as they passed through the town. It made Hughes feel important. After Belize, the ship returned to Pensacola and Hughes returned home afterward.

William B. Hughes sailed on the hospital ship USAHS Wisteria on his second voyage. He was assigned a fire station but had a difficult time locating it during a drill. He was called out over the public announcement system as a result. The captain cursed out the young apprentice seaman for not accomplishing his duties. Hughes was assigned to the galley as the third cook. He had to cook a steak for the captain. The captain told Hughes he should cook his steak for him for the rest of the voyage. The ship hit a bad storm for ten days. During passage through the Straits of Gibraltar, repair from a collision with a British ship had to be performed in a dry-dock. While there, a German submarine approached the area. Depth charges were dropped because a British aircraft carrier was nearby and had to be protected. The Wisteria shook. The submarine was gone the next day. An air raid siren sounded soon afterward. Hughes and all the young, inexperienced men in his crew ran out to see the action instead of taking cover. No bombs were dropped on the hospital ship. On the voyage home, there were 600 injured men on the ship. Hughes played piano while the nurses sang to the men. Hughes even taught the captain to play his favorite gospel song on the piano using one finger. The ship docked in Charleston, South Carolina. The crew was in their best uniform as the injured were removed. Ambulances removed the casualties from the dock. Many kissed the dock after reaching the end of the gangway. It was emotional for Hughes and helped him grow up at 17 years old. Even the captain who had cursed Hughes out had tears dripping from his chin. The ship sailed to Oran in North Africa to pick up medical supplies. While there, Hughes saw the pitiful conditions the locals lived under. He and his shipmates threw scraps of food to them until the captain ordered that they cease. Hughes disregarded the order. Sailing on to Naples, Italy, Hughes saw the aftereffects of aerial bombardments. There were ships capsized and destroyed in the harbor. When the Wisteria returned to Charleston, Hughes elected to depart the ship. His captain wanted him to stay because of his ability to cook steaks that the officer enjoyed. Nevertheless, Hughes had been so seasick on the voyage that he was determined to leave the vessel. He went to New York with a friend. They thought about going back to sea out of New York, but his friend did not want to ship-out on a tanker. Hughes returned to his home and then went to the West coast where he considered boarding a tanker. He chose not to and returned to Nashville. He turned 18 and joined the Army.

William B. Hughes knew he wanted to be a soldier when he first saw his brother in uniform. He eventually joined the Army at 18 years of age and went to Chattanooga to be given his physical and then issued a uniform. He was shipped to Camp Blanding, Florida for basic training. The war in Europe ended soon after his arrival, but he had already been told that he was destined to fight the Japanese. That resulted in extensive bayonet training. He really enjoyed basic training. His officers took note and considered him for OCS [Annotator's Note: officer candidate school). He would have accepted the offer except that his feet could not take long marches. That resulted in his transfer to the Army Air Corps. He went to Texas for training and became an MP [Annotator's Note: military police] even though he had never fired a pistol prior to that point. Hughes finally got away from the place by reenlisting. Following his 30 day leave, he was sent to Germany along with some of the first troops to enter Germany after the war. There were wartime veterans awaiting voyage back to the United States when Hughes' ship docked at Le Havre, France. The port was bombed out and in bad shape. He saw children who were barely clothed and hungry. Hughes was touched by that and tried to help them. Making his way into Germany, Hughes and a friend were shot at by a Polish DP [Annotator's Note: displaced person] while he was attempting to obtain coal for the stove in their railcar. The soldier was guarding the pile of coal and apparently fired several warning shots at Hughes and his associate to chase them away. Passing through Lyon, France, Hughes urgently needed to take a bathroom break. When the train stopped, Hughes left the car and found a spot to drop his pants and do his business. When the train suddenly started, Hughes ran to board it and ended up exposing his posterior to several French girls who had been flirting with the men on the train. It was embarrassing for Hughes, but others enjoyed the humor of the event. Upon arriving at his destination, Hughes was assigned as a truck driver. He learned to drive other types of vehicles. He stayed in Germany two and a half years. He returned to the United States on 4 July 1948.

William B. Hughes first sailed on the SS Joseph Hamilton and that was followed by the USAHS Wisteria. The Hamilton was a small freighter. Hughes did not experience seasickness on the first ship. He thought he would die on the second ship with his seasickness. Others had similar problems since they were riding in a storm. The ship made slow forward progress with the bow breaching the waves as it proceeded through the stormy seas. The ship was beaten up by the harsh weather. When Hughes had to take garbage out, a rope was tied to him. A wave hit him and threw him against the side of the ship as he floated in the water. He lost the garbage but the rope saved him. The storm lasted ten days. The ship slammed so heavily against the waves that a veteran torpedo survivor thought they hit a mine or been torpedoed. That frightened the crew even though they were aboard a hospital ship. They prepared to abandon ship but were not actually hit by enemy fire. Other than that scare, Hughes never worried about German u-boats [Annotator's Note: submarines] even though sinkings were occurring nearby and the ship was taking evasive actions.

William B. Hughes was in Wiesbaden during the occupation [Annotator's Note: Hughes was in Germany serving in the United States Army Air Forces] for two and a half years after the war. Hughes heard what he thought were shots and hit his vehicle's accelerator to leave the area quickly. Another time, Hughes was fired on by a guard in Germany who mistook him for a prowler. Hughes was a PFC [Annotator's Note: Private First Class] on guard duty when the near miss occurred. A friend almost shot Hughes with a .45 caliber pistol. The man pointed the weapon at Hughes but did not know enough about guns to know that you have to clear the chamber before pointing a gun at someone in jest. Later, when the pistol accidentally discharged, the friend was astonished that it was not empty. Another incident happened while Hughes was transporting orchestra members in Germany. A Polish guard would not let a German violin player retrieve his instrument. He aimed his rifle at Hughes and the violinist. Hughes thought he was not going to survive. Generally, Hughes' time in Germany was good. He did have a truck accident after the steering failed. He hit a tree and destroyed the vehicle. Luckily, no one was hurt. The truck was to be repaired, but it was determined that it was junk instead. That was the most exciting things that happened to Hughes. He was grateful that he did not have to kill anyone.

William B. Hughes drove trucks after the war. He was proud of his safe driving record. His brother was in the Battle of the Bulge. After the war, his brother was transferred to the Army Air Corps. Hughes' younger brother never was called to serve in the military.