He joined the Merchant Marines in 1938. It was important to deliver oil which was needed. All the troops in Europe and the Pacific needed food. They needed ammunition. They needed oil.
Oil keeps the tanks going, keeps the airplanes flying.
That's what we were doing, delivering oil all over the world. Once the United States entered the war, Hughes worked for the war effort. Hughes remembers being home when he heard that Pearl Harbor was bombed. My dad and I were down in the basement. I don't know what we were doing.