Godfrey McHugh
Encyclopedia
Godfrey T. McHugh was a United States Air Force
general, and served as military aide to President John F. Kennedy
.
, Belgium
to American parents. He received a baccalaureate science and languages from the University of Paris
in 1929.
He was oil production supervisor for the West Texas Production Company in Fort Worth, Texas
from 1938 to 1942.
.
He served as assistant executive and senior aide to Air Force Chief of Staff General Hoyt S. Vandenberg from 1948 to 1953.
He dated Jacqueline Bouvier
(who was later to marry John F. Kennedy and become First Lady of the United States
)http://books.google.com/books?id=L2G4a6pLItIC&pg=PA108&lpg=PA108&dq=Godfrey+McHugh+dated+Bouvier&source=bl&ots=O027pKWaRl&sig=c11h3bjKuc-eNbvRVOtN2NnnjtY&hl=en&ei=AQetTKHUNsHflgeH5sWYCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CCMQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false.
McHugh graduated from the National War College
1953-1954.
As military aide to the President, his duties included supervising Air Force One
. He very often rode in the middle of the front seat of the Presidential State Car while transporting the President. While he was in Dallas, Texas
during the John F. Kennedy assassination
, McHugh was moved further back in the motorcade that day rather than riding in the President's car.
After Kennedy's death, McHugh guarded Kennedy's body on Air Force One and until the President's body was returned to Washington, D.C.
In a 1978 oral history interview that McHugh gave to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library (that was withheld from the public until 2009), McHugh provided detailed statements that once Kennedy's body was back on board Air Force One he did not know that Lyndon Johnson was also on board. Due to safety concerns that there was a conspiracy, Jacqueline Kennedy's repeated requests, and the fact that the plane's interior cabin was quite warm, McHugh had requested that the plane take-off. When the plane still had not taken off, McHugh went forward to again ask pilot James Swindal why the plane had not taken off and he was told that Johnson did not want the plane to take off yet. McHugh went to find Johnson and he soon found and encountered a sobbing and cowering Johnson hiding in a bathroom with Johnson saying repeatedly, "They're going to get us all. It's a plot. It's a plot. It's going to get us all." According to the General, Johnson "was hysterical, sitting down on the john there alone in this thing." In a documented interview the previous week in 1978 McHugh had also stated to the House Select Committee on Assassinations investigator Mark Flanagan the same basic account of what he witnessed.
in 1986.
, Harper & Row, 1967
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
general, and served as military aide to President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
.
Early years
McHugh was born in BrusselsBrussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
to American parents. He received a baccalaureate science and languages from the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
in 1929.
He was oil production supervisor for the West Texas Production Company in Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
from 1938 to 1942.
Military posts
McHugh joined the U.S. Army Air Forces after the U.S. entered World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
He served as assistant executive and senior aide to Air Force Chief of Staff General Hoyt S. Vandenberg from 1948 to 1953.
He dated Jacqueline Bouvier
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis was the wife of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Five years later she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle...
(who was later to marry John F. Kennedy and become First Lady of the United States
First Lady of the United States
First Lady of the United States is the title of the hostess of the White House. Because this position is traditionally filled by the wife of the president of the United States, the title is most often applied to the wife of a sitting president. The current first lady is Michelle Obama.-Current:The...
)http://books.google.com/books?id=L2G4a6pLItIC&pg=PA108&lpg=PA108&dq=Godfrey+McHugh+dated+Bouvier&source=bl&ots=O027pKWaRl&sig=c11h3bjKuc-eNbvRVOtN2NnnjtY&hl=en&ei=AQetTKHUNsHflgeH5sWYCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CCMQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false.
McHugh graduated from the National War College
National War College
The National War College of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. It was officially established on July 1, 1946, as an upgraded replacement for the...
1953-1954.
Kennedy administration
He became Air Force Aide to President Kennedy, and was promoted to Brigadier General in 1961.As military aide to the President, his duties included supervising Air Force One
Air Force One
Air Force One is the official air traffic control call sign of any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States. In common parlance the term refers to those Air Force aircraft whose primary mission is to transport the president; however, any U.S. Air Force aircraft...
. He very often rode in the middle of the front seat of the Presidential State Car while transporting the President. While he was in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
during the John F. Kennedy assassination
John F. Kennedy assassination
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...
, McHugh was moved further back in the motorcade that day rather than riding in the President's car.
After Kennedy's death, McHugh guarded Kennedy's body on Air Force One and until the President's body was returned to Washington, D.C.
In a 1978 oral history interview that McHugh gave to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library (that was withheld from the public until 2009), McHugh provided detailed statements that once Kennedy's body was back on board Air Force One he did not know that Lyndon Johnson was also on board. Due to safety concerns that there was a conspiracy, Jacqueline Kennedy's repeated requests, and the fact that the plane's interior cabin was quite warm, McHugh had requested that the plane take-off. When the plane still had not taken off, McHugh went forward to again ask pilot James Swindal why the plane had not taken off and he was told that Johnson did not want the plane to take off yet. McHugh went to find Johnson and he soon found and encountered a sobbing and cowering Johnson hiding in a bathroom with Johnson saying repeatedly, "They're going to get us all. It's a plot. It's a plot. It's going to get us all." According to the General, Johnson "was hysterical, sitting down on the john there alone in this thing." In a documented interview the previous week in 1978 McHugh had also stated to the House Select Committee on Assassinations investigator Mark Flanagan the same basic account of what he witnessed.
Jordan Marsh incident
In the summer of 1963, a pregnant Jacqueline Kennedy was at the Kennedy family compound in Massachusetts. Air Force personnel became concerned that if Mrs. Kennedy were to deliver the child at the Otis Air Force Base hospital, that the maternity ward furniture would be inferior for the newborn of the President and First Lady. The Air Force then spent $5,000.00 of taxpayer money at Jordan Marsh & Company to purchase new furniture, and allowed media photographs of an Air Force captain proudly standing next to the purchase. After the photos made their way into the Washington Post, an irate President Kennedy telephoned McHugh and ordered him to have the furniture returned. Kennedy's curse-laden phone call with McHugh are now public.Later years
McHugh married Lillian Triplett Fall in 1967. The couple retired to Palm Beach, FloridaPalm Beach, Florida
The Town of Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The Intracoastal Waterway separates it from the neighboring cities of West Palm Beach and Lake Worth...
in 1986.
Further reading
The Death of a President, November 20-November 25, 1963 by William ManchesterWilliam Manchester
William Raymond Manchester was an American author, biographer, and historian from Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, notable as the bestselling author of 18 books that have been translated into over 20 languages...
, Harper & Row, 1967