Wolfhounds Forever - and the Mighty10 are not forgotten!
Here is an excerpt from an email, telling how Robert died. My parents never knew all of this. I thank Leonard Brooks for sharing it with me. God bless you richly, Doc!
~ Pat I am sure that Robert wrote things the way he saw and
believed them. I remember him as a quiet, soft spoken man, who didn't talk much
and kind of kept to himself. Those were some very hard times and the platoon
was made up of a lot of different personalities and attitudes, and we had each
other , like it or not. Some people may and probably will get offended by some
of the writings, however it is the truth for Roberts prospective and that's
what really matters. The "Mighty 10" will always be a part of all of
us.
The guys that I have spoken with all seem to remember Robert
in the same way that I do. A quiet man who like all of us did what we were
tasked to do to the best of our abilities. And Pat as I close these few lines ,
if there is anything we can help you with let us know. There will be a lot of
conversation going on among us in May and you and your family can rest assure
that Robert and the others of "The Mighty 10" will never be
forgotten.
As a personal note to you and your family. I sit here with
tears in my eyes because I was the very last person to speak with Robert that
day. We had crawled back to the corner of a berm of one of the rice paddies
after taking heavy causalities from the initial rocket, small arms, and heavy
machine fire from the opposing force. They began to come out of the spots and
attempted to walk over us. Robert was between me and Gordon and we were
pinned down. Raye, Orand, and Pottenger, were in the immediate area. I
remember bandaging Orand's hand, Gordon's leg and re-enforcing the dressing to
Pottenger's face. All had been shot.
Robert then got hit in the hand and I bandaged that up. The
fighting was very heavy and at close quarters. Then as Robert continued to fire
at the forces, his rifle took a hit and as he was attempting to clear it, he
got hit and he was gone instantly. Me and Gordon shared that with the other
guys last May and now I am sharing it with you. Robert Hughes was a good Man
!!!
Take Care Pat
Leonard Brooks ~
