Okinawa Marine 'feels better' with fellow veteran in Congress

HICKORY-Paul Hughes, 81, has lived 45 years in his home overlooking Lake Hickory, just across the Catawba River on a Caldwell County hillside. He's made "a living" as a hosiery mill owner and trader of real estate, stocks and other securities.

But during World War II, the former Avery County farm boy did his part, too, so that every American could have a similar story. As a 20-year-old Marine, he saw South Pacific island-hopping end on Okinawa in vicious combat with a desperate enemy running out of time. Not knowing how much he'd have to use his 50-mm machine gun, Hughes had shipped out from Tinian Island where he watched a B-29 bomber named Enola Gay take off. Within a week, he was able to start thinking about something other than war.

"We live in a world where young men and women have to go to war sometimes," he said quietly from the wheelchair where he spends most of his time. That's the reason, he said, if he had been physically able to attend he would have been proud to introduce Lance Sigmon. "More than half of the households in our district have at least one veteran, and I think they will trust Lance Sigmon in Congress-just as I have come to trust him in the short time I've known him."

"We have major issues facing our country today, and some of them involve putting our brave men and women of the Armed Forces in harm's way. Lance understands what it means to serve his country, and what obstacles our veterans face when they return to civilian life." "He carries himself well, with common sense, self-assurance and integrity. I feel much better with him helping to make these tough decisions, instead of a young man who's never picked up a weapon to defend his country."

Hughes' "American Story" started near Newland, where as a 6-1, 200-pound 16-year-old, he started his first business, a convenience store he would sell two years later. Between then and July 1942, he worked his way across the country in truck delivery jobs before landing in Los Angeles, where he joined the Marines. Before Okinawa in summer 1945, Hughes took part in bloody campaigns in the Marshall Islands and Tinian-which, of course, launched the first two atom bombs used in warfare.

Just outside Hickory, in 1946, he bought his first hosiery mill, containing 31 knitting machines. At one time he owned three mills-two in Hickory, one in Newland-with over 150 employees. Building an apartment complex whetted his interest in real estate, and he closed the last mill in 1993. Even as friends "retired" as their ages advanced, Hughes would only "semi-retire." After 14 years in the real estate business, he's still an occasional salesman, and he still actively manages his investments in the securities markets.

Since July 1942, most people would say he's done his part.

Lance Sigmon - 10th District Native, Lifetime of Service

I was born on November 10, 1958, in Newton to Eddie P. and Boncella Killian Sigmon. I have two younger sisters who are both married, and I also have two nephews and one niece. My parents both have lived in Catawba County all of their lives and we have a large extended family in the area.

I went to Newton-Conover High School and graduated in 1977. On my 18th birthday, I signed up to join the Air Force through the Delayed Entry Program and left home in July 1977 for basic training at Lackland AFB, Texas. After graduating from basic, I trained as a defensive aerial gunner on a B-52H bomber and then spent the next 3½ years stationed at Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota. I was the only enlisted crewmember on a combat crew and was responsible for the defense of the aircraft while in flight. As part of my duties, I spent every third week during the "Cold War" on "nuclear alert" with the rest of my crew, ready to take off at a moment's notice to defend our country from attack.

I was honorably discharged in 1981 and was thrilled to move back to western North Carolina. I began college at Lenoir-Rhyne College using the GI Bill benefits I earned while enlisted and then transferred to Western Carolina University. I graduated magna cum laude in 1985 with a double major in Accounting and Economics. In August of that year I was proud to marry my high school sweetheart, Melissa Seagle. The very next week we moved to Winston-Salem where I began law school at Wake Forest University.

During my third year of law school, I went through the process of interviewing for jobs with various law firms, but despite the opportunities I was given, I had a strong desire to return to the military. Melissa and I prayed and discussed the possibility for a long time, since we knew that it was a sacrifice that would affect our entire family. With Melissa's support, I returned to the Air Force and accepted a commission in the Air Force Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG) as a 1st Lieutenant after graduating from law school in 1988.

We spent the next 17 years as a military family beginning at Tyndall AFB, Florida, where both of our children were born. We then moved to Alaska, followed by Fayetteville, NC, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and finally Washington, DC. During those assignments, I deployed to Kuwait as the Staff Judge Advocate (head legal advisor) in support of OPERATION SOUTHERN WATCH, deployed as legal advisor in support of OPERATION UPHOLD DEMOCRACY, assisted in aircraft crash investigations in Honduras and Maryland, and routinely advised commanders and junior attorneys on the law of war.

I held numerous positions while assigned to the JAG Corps. My first assignment was dealing with financial claims against the United States. I served as a prosecutor at four separate locations, providing commanders with the disciplinary tools necessary to maintain "good order and discipline." At two separate bases, I was hand-picked to serve as sole defense counsel for a military population of over 10,000 airmen. While stationed in Germany, I was selected as the chief prosecutor for all Air Force bases in Europe and Southwest Asia, which meant I prosecuted the most serious military offenders while supervising other junior prosecutors. Finally, I served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in Florida and Alaska, prosecuting civilians who committed criminal acts on U.S. government property in U.S. Magistrate's Court.

In 2000, because of my extensive experience with military criminal issues, I was appointed as Chief Appellate Counsel for the Air Force at Bolling AFB, Washington, DC. In that position, I was responsible for making sure that criminal convictions were affirmed in the military appellate courts. After terrorists attacked America on September 11, 2001, I was also selected to serve as an Executive Officer to the Air Force Crisis Action Team, which served as the 24-hour, 365-day nerve center of world-wide Air Force operations at the Pentagon. After three years as Chief Appellate Counsel, I was honored to be appointed as military judge for the final two years of my service. I traveled to Air Force bases in the U.S. and abroad to preside over criminal trials, ensuring that the military courts-martial were conducted in a fair and orderly manner.

In 2005, after serving a total of 21 years, I retired and our family returned to Newton, remodeling the home Melissa had grown up in. I opened a solo law practice specializing in defending military personnel facing trial by court-martial. Melissa had been homeschooling our children since we lived in Germany, and she continued to do so in Newton while assisting me in my new law practice. Our family joined the church where Melissa and I had been married in 1985, Abernethy Memorial United Methodist Church in Newton, and we have enjoyed being active in that church. Our son is now a freshman in college and our daughter will graduate from high school next year. Our family also includes a cat, two dogs and two horses.

After returning to North Carolina, I became concerned with the representation and the lack of respect that our District receives in Washington, DC. I had grown up with Rep. Jim Broyhill as our Congressman, who was and still is a highly respected and honorable man. Rep. Broyhill was followed by Rep. Cass Ballenger, who continued the legacy of respect and honesty that Broyhill had created for our district. Unfortunately, I do not believe that we have that type of representative today. The people in this district - including my family, friends, and others I have known since childhood - are good, hard-working, honest people, and deserve a representative who reflects those values. I know what those values are and I live by the values I learned here. I want to bring back the respect our District once enjoyed.