D. Clarke Evans Photographer

Jack Hugman

Seaman First Class, U.S. Navy
1945–1947

S1/c, Jack Hugman
San Francisco, CA, 1946

In Japan we went to Yokosuka Naval Base and unloaded ships. Everything, including some officer, his wife and dog; all kinds of stuff to occupy the country.

I was born in 1927 and grew up in Boerne, Texas. I joined the Navy in November, 1945. My older brother had been in the Navy. I went to boot camp in San Diego. Afterward, I was sent to Yerba Buena Island for a series of tests. My highest grade was in Semaphore, so they put me in supply. They shipped me out to Hawaii and then Guam, and then to Japan.  

 In Japan we went to Yokosuka Naval Base and unloaded ships. Everything, including some officer, his wife and dog; all kinds of stuff to occupy the country. We unloaded ship service supplies like GI clothing and shoes. We wore combat boots, and we had dress shoes only if you were standing inspection. We had some Marines on the base, mostly MPs, and some in town. We’d transfer stuff to the railroad, and I was designated the main truck driver as I could jackknife a truck and get it between the track and a boxcar. It had to be jackknifed to make it fit, and some of them couldn’t even drive the truck in reverse. We were the main supply base for Japan. A ship would come in and we’d resupply it. 

We were the best group there. They had a heavy-duty garage there and various other things. When it came to chow, everything stopped and we went in. We were busy and we didn’t have time to stand in line. A lot of people, especially soldiers, would come and eat there because we did have good chow. I enjoyed that. We did so well that the commander of the base divided our group into three groups and took us up to northern Japan for a vacation. They had sulfur hot water and swimming pools. 

I got along fine with the Japanese, and we spoke Japanese around the barracks as a novelty. I could carry on a conversation with the Japanese. My language was probably all chopped up, but they knew what I was getting at. I had a girlfriend, and I had a lot of Marine buddies because I could get them white skivvies. I guess it looked better than the green ones they were issued. I got out at the end of 1947.

Yes, I’m proud of my service; glad I did it. I had never really been away from home. I missed home at first, but it really didn’t get to me. In boot camp some of those guys cried like babies. You would think they were 10 or 12 years old.

I came back and took over a service station my dad built in 1932. Then they started putting stations all over the place. I had a low month and I told my dad that I gotta do something better than this. This was 1948 and 1949. I got married in 1949 and I needed a job. 

I applied all over. Finally a friend of mine that worked for American Airlines said Braniff had a job opening. I went up to Dallas to interview, and the guy in charge had been in the Navy as an officer in supply. I worked with them for 28 1/2 years until they went bankrupt in 1981. I did the same thing I was doing in the Navy; mostly aircraft parts.

My wife was executive secretary for Mr. Sutton who had an oil producing company. He hired me as a consultant but I was really in charge of a couple of his side businesses: ranches, an exotic game ranch in Ingram, Billy Dan’s Nightclub, and a bowling alley in Universal City. I worked for Mr. Sutton from 1981-1992. After that I did a lot of volunteer work. I regret a lot of that stuff because I didn’t get to go to a lot of my kids’ activities. But they claim they still loved me. I was married 61 1/2 years. I have four kids, seven grandkids and eight great grandkids. {05-16-2017 • San Marcos, TX}