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He Answered Call To Help Local Veterans

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By STEVE OTTO

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 18, 2008

It was raining and it was dark when we rolled by Bushnell on Interstate 75 this week.

We had planned on getting there earlier in the day on the way back from the Carolinas. We wanted to stop by the Florida National Cemetery to visit my wife's parents, who are buried there.

You know how it is packing up - we just didn't have time.

It was while we were on the road that I got a call from a reader who wanted to tell me that Tom Hughey had died while we were gone and that the day before he had been buried at the same veterans cemetery.

That hurt. I was sorry I hadn't been there to say goodbye. Hughey had always been there for me through the years and in his own way had been there for all veterans.

Tom Hughey served in Korea, but his war was Vietnam, where he served two tours and was awarded a Purple Heart. He had grown up in Defiance, Ohio, and gone off to serve as a hospital corpsman. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment.

While in the field, he and some buddies set up a clinic for the local villagers. They even raised a few hundred bucks among themselves to send some of the local kids to school. The year was 1966.

Like so many thousands of other veterans, it was those years overseas that become watershed events in their lives. I can't tell you how many veterans I've known whose lives remain centered on those events, whether World War II, Korea, Vietnam or now the Middle Eastern conflicts.
Hughey went to work for the state's Children's Medical Services department, where he dealt mostly with treating cocaine-addicted babies.

He Made Sure We Never Forgot
Hughey also recognized that servicemen returning home needed more than discharge papers. He felt especially strongly about the veterans coming back from Vietnam who were returning to a country that either ignored them or in many situations treated them with hostility.

He joined the Town 'N Country American Legion Post 152 and went to work on veterans' issues.

One thing that steamed him was a general indifference toward Veterans Day. Determined to hold a parade, he worked his way through a stack of local bureaucratic hassles, from getting an approved route, to convincing the school district to round up a few bands to play.

Starting in 1986, it took years of cajoling, nagging and pleading to pull off a half-decent parade in Town 'N Country.

I don't think it was until 2001, two months after we were all reeling from the attacks, that the parade drew thousands of flag-waving supporters. I was there to watch them honor my Plant High classmate Frank "Tink" McNutt, who had fallen on a grenade in Vietnam and sacrificed his life to save several others in his unit.
Hughey Always Asked, How Can I Help?
Hughey was always calling, always wondering what he could do to bring recognition to veterans.

He showed up annually at the Yankees' community field with an honor guard for the opening ceremonies for our Beep Ball game of local celebrities against the Lighthouse for the Blind team.

Tom Hughey did not want us to forget the veterans or their sacrifices. I won't forget his.

Keyword, Otto Graphs, to read and comment on Steve Otto's blog.

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